Treatment options for bipolar depression in youths have been primarily studied in adults. Currently only one medication is approved by the FDA for use in bipolar depression in youths. However, there is a growing number of research on treatment options in youths with bipolar disorder. Despite this, there is still a huge gap in clinical trials performed on adults and children and as this webinar will show, extrapolating results of adult studies doesnt necessarily translate to successful treatment options for youths. Furthermore, although medication is the cornerstone of treatment in children and adolescents with bipolar disorder, well discuss how psychosocial interventions are of paramount importance. The current webinar will review the empirical evidence available for both pharmacological and psychosocial treatment strategies for bipolar depression.
Dr. Melissa DelBello is Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Dr. Stanley and Mickey Kaplan Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and Co-Director of the Division of Bipolar Disorders Research at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Dr. DelBello received her medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and completed her postgraduate education through psychiatry residencies at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic of the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. Dr. DelBello completed a clinical fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She also obtained a masters degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of Cincinnati. Dr. DelBello is a child and adolescent psychiatrist with expertise in the field of the neurodevelopment and treatment of adolescent bipolar disorder. She has been studying pharmacological interventions for, as well as the neurofunction, neurochemisty and outcome of adolescents with and at risk for developing bipolar disorder for over 15 years. She is the principal or co-investigator of many NIH, foundation, and pharmaceutical research grants. In addition to teaching and lecturing both nationally and internationally, she has received numerous awards and honors and has authored or co-authored over 250 peer-reviewed journal articles, reviews, and book chapters.