Pilot Trial of Peer Support for Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a chronic and often disabling illness affecting 1-2% of US adults. Peer
support programs are an innovative and promising model to reverse demoralization, activate
consumers to seek more effective care, develop consumers' self-management skills, and restore
participation in work and other social roles. Peer-led programs can address key barriers to
dissemination of effective psychosocial treatment. This pilot effectiveness trial will
evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of a structured peer support
program based on the Certified Peer Specialist Program of the Depression and Bipolar Support
Alliance (DBSA). Following the philosophy of recovery, the intervention focuses on:

- Motivating consumers to develop an expectation of recovery

- Encouraging regular self-monitoring of mood symptoms

- Training consumers to develop self-management skills for symptom control and problem
solving

- Activating consumers to be more informed partners in care and more effective
self-advocates

- Motivating and assisting consumers to reclaim work and other rewarding social roles

The investigators will use a rigorous research design to evaluate how structured peer support
promotes core values of mental health recovery. Impact of the intervention will be judged
across a range of outcomes:

- Long-term control of mood disorder symptoms

- Optimal participation in work and other rewarding social roles

- Consumers' perceptions of autonomy and full participation in the treatment process
Findings from this pilot study will inform the development of a full-scale effectiveness
trial to include a broader range of participants and health care settings.

Inclusion Criteria:

- GHC members aged 18 and over with Bipolar Disorder Type 1 or Type 2 and at least 6
weeks during the past 3 months with a depression or mania/hypomania Psychiatric Status
Rating of 3 or greater (indicating significant symptoms at least half of the time).
Potential participants will not be excluded because of medical, psychiatric, or
substance use comorbidity.

Exclusion Criteria:

- Children under age 18.