Depression, Bipolar, Schizoaffective and General Mood Disorder Coaching
Coaching for individuals with mood disorders has been shown as a way to reduce anxiety, identify and manage triggers such as sleep, stress and more complex issues. Coaching provides hope and healing for individuals with mood disorders. Goose Creek Coaching was founded and is a national leader in these methods.
Coaching is used in depression to help individuals deal with the day-to-day feelings, increase their comfort level with interaction with others, decrease isolation, better manage sleep and manage other triggers than tend to cause major deperssive episodes in Major Depression, Dsythimia, Bereavement and other forms of depression. Depression Coaching has been proven, with medication, to be a powerful combination and alternative to cognitive behaviorial therapy (CBT). Coaching is insight-oriented, practical and includes follow through.
Bipolar Disorder Coaching
Coaching is utilized by those with bipolar disorder to identify, combat and manage triggers. Bipolar Disorder Coaching seeks to manage anxiety, general stress levels, sleep problems and other traditional and nontraditional triggers that kindle manic, depressive, rapid-cycling and mixed mood episodes. Coaching also seeks to help clients avoid substances and other triggers that can led to psychosis. CBT has proven inaffective in preventing relapses in bipolar disorder ("Cognitive behavioral therapy for the major psychiatric disorders: Does it work?," Psychological Medicine, 2010) and Bipolar Disorder Coaching is an alternative that has been designed by people with bipolar to help others with bipolar. Combined with peer and family support, and medication, Bipolar Coaching has been effective in reducing the rate of relapse for our clients. Our top coach in this area has bipolar disorder and developed this model of help.
Schizoaffective Disorder
We have found that peer-to-peer recovery coaching works best for those with schizoaffective disorder. Coaches can provide those with the disorder with hands-on help that can focus dually preventing relapse or catching and managing psyhchosis early through frequent contract, insight-oriented work outside of psychosis, practical focus, acceptance and understanding. Our schioaffective disorder coaching is conducted primarily by a peer recovery coach who has schizoaffective disorder.
General Mood Disorder Coaching
General Mood Disorder Coaching targets mood disorders that are not otherwise specificed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-TR and uses individually tailored combinations of the same principles in bipolar disorder, depression and schizoaffective disorder. Good Mood Disorder Coaching is also utilized for those with permenstrual dsyphoric disorder, substance-induced mood disorders, cyclolthemya and other subtypes of mood disorders.
Combinations of depression and anxiety have long been found together at high rates in clinical settings. The next version of the primary medical manual for mental disorders in the United States will acknowledge this fact in 2013. Anxious Depression has been shown to predict poorer treatment response, more suicide attempts, more and longer occupational problems and more suicides. We treat individuals with major depression combined with severe anxiety disorders in conjunction with reputable psychiatrists.
The importance of a good diagnosis has become even clearer as pharmaceutical companies have further refined their biological silver bullets for mental illness. Medicines like, for example, serotonin reuptake inhibitors can be targeted to treat depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and a variety of other illness. But they can have dramatically harmful effects on those with bipolar disorder.
Depression affects how you feel, think and behave. Depression can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble with normal day-to-day activities and, at times, may feel that life is not worth living. Some symptoms of a major depressive episode:
Sadness, crying spells
Major changes in appetite and sleep patterns
Irritability, anger
Worry, anxiety
Pessimism, indifference, feeling like nothing will ever go right
Loss of energy, constant exhaustion
Unexplained aches and pains
Feelings of guilt, worthlessness and/or hopelessness
Not able to concentrate or make decisions
Not able to enjoy things you once liked, not wanting to socialize
Excessive alcohol or drug use
Recurring thoughts of death or suicide
Bipolar Disorder is -- sometimes called manic depression -- causes mood swings that range from the lows of depression to highs of mania. When you become depressed, it can be as bad or worse than an major depressive episode. When your mood shifts in the other direction, you may feel euphoric, seem grandiose, full of energy and be at high risk. Mixed episodes are depression and mania occurring at the same time, and rapid cycling involves quickly shifting moods. Depression and bipolar disorder can often involve mood-related psychosis. Some signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder include:
Increased energy, activity, and restlessness
Excessively "high," overly good, euphoric mood
Extreme irritability
Racing thoughts and talking very fast, jumping from one idea to another
Distractibility, can't concentrate well
Little sleep needed
Unrealistic beliefs in one's abilities and powers
Poor judgment
Spending sprees
A lasting period of behavior that is different from usual
Increased sexual drive
Abuse of drugs, particularly cocaine, alcohol, and sleeping medications
Provocative, intrusive, or aggressive behavior
Denial that anything is wrong
Sadness, crying spells
Major changes in appetite and sleep patterns
Irritability, anger
Worry, anxiety
Pessimism, indifference, feeling like nothing will ever go right
Loss of energy, constant exhaustion
Unexplained aches and pains
Feelings of guilt, worthlessness and/or hopelessness
Not able to concentrate or make decisions
Not able to enjoy things you once liked, not wanting to socialize
Excessive alcohol or drug use
Recurring thoughts of death or suicide
Other Mood Disorders:
Cyclothymia
Premenstrual Dsyphoric Disorder
Mood Disorder, NOS
Schizoaffective Disorder
Dysthymia
Bereavement
Anxious Depression
Substance-induced disorders
Questions about the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)with bipolar disorder, depression and psychosis? If you choose psychotherapy over or in conjunction with coaching, make sure your psychotherapist is using a method that is proven to be effective. See this recent article in the Cambridge University Press journal Psychological Medicine.
Our Featured Blog Post About Bipolar, Depression and Schoaffective Disorder
become even clearer as pharmaceutical companies have further refined their biological silver bullets for mental illness. Medicines like, for example, serotonin reuptake inhibitors can be targeted to treat depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and a variety of other illness.