Young people experiencing a first episode of mania often fail to receive optimum care because there’s no mental services that cater for the episodic nature of bipolar disorder in this age group, researchers say.

It’s GPs who often face the dilemma of how to get the best care for these patients, they say.

In a commentary in Lancet Psychiatry, Australian and UK researchers have called for improved, targeted treatment within existing mental health services for patients with a first manic episode.

Co-author and psychiatrist Dr Aswin Ratheesh, from Orygen, the National Center of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, says young people with bipolar disorder in Australia fall into the ‘missing middle’ in youth mental health services.