Session 20 - Problem-solving strategies

Summary

Goal

As with the last session, we do not view problem-solving as an essential topic in the psychoeducation of a bipolar patient; nonetheless, decision-making is complex for people who suffer this disorder once they have learned not to make decisions when they are sick, or on the spur of the moment. Patients like this type of session because they understand they are acquiring tools that go beyond learning about the disorder. Little by little, this particular session has evolved, and we now use it in our groups to deal with the real, daily problems of an individual suffering bipolar disorder: deciding who to tell about the disorder, what employment or academic limits should be set or imposed – if we have to impose them ourselves – how to plan the daily routine so that it is less stressful, or how to plan our vacations. The last issue has shown up in all the groups we have run so far, so that we decided to prepare material to deal with it, hence patients have something concrete to hold onto. Once again, our program does not claim to be a structured training in problem-solving techniques, which would take several sessions. Our intention is just to sketch out ways of structuring the decision-making process.

Procedure

• Once the group has stopped chatting and we have some minimal attention, we explain why we are devoting a session to problem-solving techniques.

• We briefly present the theoretical problem-solving model.