Parent(s) Living With Bipolar Disorder:
Children in Bipolar families can be significantly affected by the episodes parents' experience.
Children often experience a sense of instability, insecurity, unpredictability, and confusion.
Episodes put significant stress in the parent-child relationship.
Often times children take on the caretaker role of their parents.
Children often feel shame, guilt, and self-blame for their parent's struggle.
Together in therapy, we may work towards developing:
- Structure and predictability for your children.
- Helping your children develop coping mechanisms that enable them to externalize and depersonalize the cause of your mania or depression.
- Give your children the opportunity to learn in a developmentally appropriate way about Bipolar Disorder.
- Repair your relationships with your children after an episode.
- Create an outlet for you and your children to strengthen your relationship.
- Use play therapy and art therapy as a vehicle to achieve these objectives in a developmentally appropriate way when appropriate.
Note: If your adolescent is living with Bipolar Disorder please see
"Bipolar Teens & Young Adults"
