Experiences of a transdiagnostic anxiety cognitive behaviour therapy group for people living with bipolar disorder : a qualitative study

Tania Perich, Kelly Kakakios, Janet Conti

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Participant experiences of transdiagnostic bipolar disorder treatment groups has been largely under-explored. The present study aimed to explore the experiences of people living with bipolar disorder who participated in a pilot study of a transdiagnostic cognitive behaviour therapy for comorbid anxiety. Methods: Ten participants (five male) diagnosed with bipolar disorder took part in an interview at the completion of the programme. Participants were asked open-ended questions about the programme and their experiences of participation in the group. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Key themes identified included: (1) “Content and techniques – applications outside of the group”, where participants reported using the content learnt for the management of anxiety and other symptoms, including co-occurring conditions; (2) ‘Being part of the group – “feeling normal”, where participants reported feeling supported within a group that was specific to bipolar disorder; and (3) “Group structure – enabling process, content and research”, where participants reported that structural elements, such as participation in research, added meaning to their experience. Conclusions: This research provides evidence for the value of transdiagnostic approaches in the treatment of bipolar disorder, with participants reporting that they applied the skills learnt to anxiety, substance use and bipolar disorder-specific symptoms.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)269-276
Number of pages8
JournalClinical Psychologist
Volume26
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Open Access - Access Right Statement

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync- nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.

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