Along with prompt diagnosis and appropriate medical care, people with anxiety, bipolar disorder and / or depression benefit from learning how to:

1) Recognize their patterns of thought and behavior.

2) Learn skills to adjust those patterns toward wellness.

A recent study, led by David Miklowitz, PhD, of the University of Colorado, and published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, verifies these statements.

In the study, adolescents with bipolar disorder who received a nine-month course of family-focused therapy (FFT) recovered more rapidly from episodes of depression and stayed depression-free for longer lengths of time than a control group.

What is FFT?

Family-focused treatment, or FFT, is a series of intense psychosocial treatment sessions during which the patient and his family learn to identify the symptoms and patterns of bipolar disorder as well as how to recognize impending episodes or relapses.

In addition to medication monitoring, the participants learn communication skills, problem-solving techniques, and illness management strategies that include charts and tools for tracking symptoms and side-effects.

This course of treatment offers an encouraging glimpse into a future where patients with mental illness will develop skills and acquire the tools that allow them to stay well a greater percentage of the time.

In addition, by imbuing the mentally ill with not only appropriate medical treatment, but also support systems, knowledge of their illness, and skills to better manage it, we empower them to believe in the possibility of wellness and encourage the will to work toward and achieve that possibility.

The size of a small part of the brain, the hippocampus (a structure at the base of the brain involved in memory, learning, emotions) is influenced by variations in a blood-vessel gene; and it seems to be key in memory and mood disorders, according to Yale researchers.

It is hoped that this new information, which builds on years of previous research, will lead to new ways to treat depression, bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses. Previously, researchers discovered that the hippocampus is smaller in depressed people, and that antidepressants actually enlarge the brain structure, through a growth factor called brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).

The discovery by Dr. Ronald Duman, a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at Yale, coincides with previous findings that BDNF is involved with neural regeneration.

The latest research, based on brain scans and genetic analysis of 47 volunteers, suggests that another growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), is also linked to the volume of the hippocampus. When scientists figure out exactly how a variation in the VEGF gene affects the hippocampus, new treatments for depression and bipolar disorder, among other ailments, could develop through the VEGF pathway.

VEGF controls the growth of blood vessels and has been of keen interest to oncologists looking to starve malignant tumors and researchers in the area of macular degeneration. Several of these growth factors may affect the parts of the brain responsible for the symptoms in mood and other psychiatric disorders. Likewise, multiple genes may be responsible for mental illnesses.

The bottom line…new research means new knowledge leading to better diagnosis and treatment for more complete recovery.

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I first wrote this article on my Revolution Health blog, and thought my regular readers would benefit:

A Swiss study has substantiated the fact that substance abuse and mental illness are often linked and both biologically based.

“People with manic symptoms and bipolar disorder type II are at significant risk of later developing an alcohol abuse or dependence problem, a long-term study conducted in Switzerland confirms.”

The results of the study were published in the January 2008 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry by lead researchers from the National Institute of Mental Health Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program.

Click here to read the update.

This data should convince families and community services to treat addicts under a medical model rather than using the long-failed, crime & punishment, “war on drugs” approach. Let’s stop the insanity of wasting time and resources, and destroying relationships. Let’s treat these people with dignity, respect, and efficacious medicine.

I just completed a nearly-hour long teleconference with Michael Corbin, one of the founders of everyminute.org, a website mobilizing mental health advocates into a lobbying power in support of innovative research.

Corbin’s take: “We are a beacon of hope for mental health similar to what the Susan G. Komen or the ONE campaign are doing in their respective fields. We are the only youthful, grassroots campaign for mental health solely focused on prevention and the possibility of finding a cure through accelerating the public funding of research.

“everyminute.org exists because <the> one out of four Americans affected do not yet have a unified voice to be fairly represented when the government makes appropriations.”

I’m grateful that Michael and his business partner Jace are making the effort to change that underrepresentation. As I work to spread accurate information about mental illness, diagnosis, treatment and recovery across all strata of American culture, I’m excited that others are doing the same. Educating our communities is the first step toward eradicating profound societal challenges that include limited research into mental health causes and treatments, the lack of mental health care parity, criminalization vs. medication, and the increasing number of suicides by American youth.

I am an advocate of hope. I know the significant difference appropriate medical care and proper support systems can make in the lives of those diagnosed with a serious mental illness. I embrace the opportunity to join forces with individuals and organizations with similar agendas.

I am proud to become affiliated with everyminute.org. Like the Jed Foundation, everyminute.org is working to ensure early and effective identification, diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses in order to save lives.

How could I not be proud of those affiliations?