Support program to help people with bipolar disorder transition from hospital to the community

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

This is a 6-month, open-label pilot testing a multimodal transitional-care pathway for people with recent-onset bipolar disorder discharged from hospital. The intervention includes six clinician-led group psychoeducation sessions delivered over up to eight weeks, roughly biweekly individual peer-support meetings (about 12 total across six months), and two optional collaborative sessions offering guideline-based support and a clinical decision-support app for participants' community healthcare providers. Ten participants meeting inclusion criteria will be enrolled at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton to estimate recruitment, retention, adherence, satisfaction, and safety and to inform a subsequent randomized trial. Outcomes focus on feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary signals of effectiveness for illness insight, treatment adherence, and symptom management.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

* Age: Patient-participants must be between 18 and 35 years old.
* Diagnosis: Must have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder within the past 24 months.
* Clinical Features: Must have experienced psychosis and/or a lack of insight into their illness at the time of enrollment.
* Language Proficiency: Must be able to understand and speak English.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Severe Psychiatric Conditions: Individuals with a severe psychiatric condition that would prevent them from safely engaging in the intervention.
* Cognitive or Medical Impairment: Those with significant cognitive impairment or a medical condition that interferes with their ability to participate in psychoeducation or peer-support sessions.
* Substance Use Disorder: Individuals with an active substance use disorder that may impact adherence to the intervention.
* Language Barriers: Participants who do not speak English and are unable to engage in study sessions without language support.
* Concurrent Participation in Similar Programs: Individuals who are already enrolled in another structured psychoeducational or peer-support program that could interfere with study outcomes.

Where it's running

• St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton
  Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Recruiting

Study contacts

• Study coordinator: Fabiano A. Gomes, MD, Ph.D.
• Email: gomesfs@mcmaster.ca
• Phone: 905-522-1155

Similar studies

Other studies for the same condition or treatment. Recruiting studies are listed first.

• Examining the effects of combined therapy for schizophrenia

  This study is testing whether combining two therapies, one for managing thoughts and another for improving cognitive skills, can help people with schizophrenia do better in their daily lives compared to using just one of the therapies.

  Recruiting at 2 sites University of Toronto · Scarborough Village, Ontario and 1 other locations · NCT05731414

• Affective Cognitive Training for mood disorders and their close relatives

  A six-week program combining virtual reality and computer exercises tests whether affective cognitive training helps people with mood disorders and their unaffected first-degree relatives.

  Recruiting Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital · Frederiksberg, Capital Region of Denmark · NCT07920302

• Understanding anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder over time in China

  This study tests how anxiety, depressive, and bipolar symptoms change over three years to find patterns that help with earlier recognition and prediction in people aged 12–55.

  Recruiting Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine · Hangzhou, Zhejiang · NCT07903246

• French Minds: a French, Multimodal Cohort Study of Severe Psychiatric Disorders and Healthy Controls

  This study tests whether people with mood, psychotic, or autism disorders can be grouped into more similar subtypes based on social withdrawal and anhedonia, across ages 15 to 60.

  Recruiting at 10 sites Fondation FondaMental · Besançon and 16 other locations · NCT07881016

• State Representation in Early Psychosis 2

  This observational study tests how people with early psychosis and healthy individuals use state information during tasks and how brain activity supports it.

  Recruiting at 2 sites University of Minnesota · Minneapolis, Minnesota and 1 other locations · NCT07834203

• Recovery-oriented suicide prevention for young people at clinical high risk for psychosis

  This program tests a peer-supported, clinician-led suicide prevention group for young people at clinical high risk for psychosis to see if it helps reduce suicidal thoughts and support recovery.

  Recruiting at 2 sites University of California, San Diego · Los Angeles, California and 1 other locations · NCT07756567

How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.