Social rhythm therapy—A potentially translatable psychosocial intervention for bipolar disorder

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this paper was to present Social Rhythm Therapy, which has been modified from Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy, by drawing on implementation science to describe a process that for integrating this into routine clinical practice. Method: On the basis of the principles of user-centred design, we aimed to modify an existing psychosocial therapy for bipolar disorder to make this readily translatable into a range of clinical practice models which could be further modified based on feedback from end users. Results: Social Rhythm Therapy has been adapted from Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy which has demonstrated efficacy in research settings. The adaptation was developed in order to facilitate implementation of some of the key components in routine clinical practice. It is short, relatively simple, easily learned and intended to be flexible. Conclusions: Social rhythm therapy for bipolar disorder has many characteristics which may make it translatable into clinical practice in different settings. There is a need for studies into the clinical effectiveness of this intervention that has been modified from an evidence-based intervention.