People with bipolar disorder benefit from certain forms of psychotherapy, particularly skills-based interventions, combined with medication, a study shows.

In the systematic review and network meta-analysis, international researchers examined data from 39 randomised clinical trials with a total of 3863 participants with bipolar disorder.

All received pharmacotherapy either with usual care or in combination with manualised psychotherapy interventions (those with instructions on how to carry out the procedure) such as cognitive behavioural therapy, family or conjoint therapy, interpersonal therapy, or psychoeducational therapy.

The primary endpoint was illness recurrence, while secondary outcomes included depressive and manic symptoms at 12 months, the authors reported in JAMA Psychiatry.