Digital Interventions for Bipolar Disorder

Against the increasing prevalence of mental health disorders globally, digitally delivered interventions have sought to alleviate the pressures on service delivery due to shortages of trained professionals, geographical and ability barriers, financial constraints, and stigma. There is good evidence for digital interventions for depression and anxiety, and treatment guidelines recommend them as a first-line intervention. Cognitive behavior and social rhythms therapy are proving salient in program development and delivery for bipolar disorder (BD), and their evidence base should be further developed. Alongside further evidence generation, the challenges around implementing digitally delivered interventions in the real world for patient benefit will need to be addressed. The future of these interventions will likely leverage machine learning algorithms and connected devices for remote monitoring in real-time and ecological approaches for on-time interventions that may contribute to preventing relapses and enhancing monitoring for recovery-orientated living with bipolar disorder.