Is psychotherapy helpful for treatment of Bipolar Disorder?

Hello! I have a cousin who suffers from bipolar disorder. Actually, she talked to me about her illness only few days ago and I am still confused. I noticed she often changed her moods and that she was sometimes very depressed and sometimes in extremely elevated mood, but I had no idea that this was due to illness. She said she was seeing her therapist but I don’t know if psychotherapy is helpful for treatment of Bipolar Disorder?

Hello! Psychotherapy is only one component of the treatment and it is usually used in conjunction with medications. Bipolar disorder is actually an imbalance of chemicals that regulate emotion and it can’t be treated without medication. Bipolar disorder, when untreated, can cause a lot of problems. The symptoms of the disease can interfere with all aspects of patient’s life. A comprehensive treatment usually involves medications, psychotherapy and education which are crucial in helping patients and their families dealing with this disorder and prevent its complications.