Treatment for Bipolar Disorder in Pasadena

Really good treatment for bipolar disorder requires at least four components: a psychiatrist, a psychotherapist, a social worker, and some sort of in home help. Many people would argue that a day program is also a good thing. I have bipolar disorder and I have a psychiatrist, have had a psychotherapist, and do have in home support services for house cleaning. I don't have a social worker or caseworker and really could have used one. You also need money, even though you may not be able to work due to the bipolar disorder.

How and where does one find treatment for bipolar disorder? My experience is limited to the Pasadena, California area but some of my experiences are pretty general.

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder about ten years ago. At that time I had been working and had health insurance (Kaiser) and was getting state disability payments. I recognized that something was very wrong with me and I saw a Kaiser psychiatrist. Many people with bipolar disorder do not seek treatment because they don't recognize that anything is wrong with them. In this case, a friend or a relative may have to step in. My psychiatrist diagnosed me with bipolar disorder and began treatment. At this point I was too disoriented for psychotherapy to be of much use. The psychiatrist was very good, stayed right on top of what was going on with me and I began to feel better, although I wasn't able to work.

Eventually the disability payments ran out and so did the Kaiser insurance. I had no income and no psychiatrist to prescribe medication and no way of paying medications anyway. It looked like my treatment for bipolar disorder was going to come to a screeching halt. At some point in the course of their illness, many people with bipolar disorder fall through the safety net, are not treated, and end up on the streets. Fortunately for me there was a clinic in Pasadena called Pacific Clinics. They treated only people with serious mental illness or, as it is now called, brain disorders. Pacific clinics provided free treatment from a psychiatrist and free medication.

In the middle of all this I still had no money and if I had not had friends and family, I wouldn't have made it. I could have used a caseworker to help me get social security disability but I did it on my own and was refused. For my appeal, my psychiatrist at Pacific Clinics wrote a very good letter and I got social security. This all sounds very simple but it meant going six months without income. I applied for welfare (again I could have used a caseworker), something I never ever thought I would have to do. I received $175 a month and food stamps. In case anyone thinks that the livin' is easy on welfare think again.

Finally I got my social security so I had some money but not much money. I felt I was unscrambled enough to benefit from psychotherapy and began to bug Pacific Clinics for that type of treatment. Finally, I got a therapist. And then another therapist. And then another one. Pacific Clinics was a revolving door for therapists to work while waiting for something better. So that part of my treatment for bipolar disorder didn't work. I went to some of their group therapies but found them to be poorly run and just about useless.

My psychiatrist left Pacific Clinics and so did I. I continued to receive treatment from him that was paid for by Medicare and Medicaid. I was still looking for a therapist. Again I could have used a caseworker. Most therapists wouldn't take Medicare/medical. Finally, I found one who did. She worked with me to accept some level of disability, to spot triggers to bipolar episodes, and to get myself in the best mental health shape I could. She also felt I needed help at home with housekeeping. I thought I needed help also but hated the idea of applying for it. Again, I could have used a caseworker. Finally, I did apply for In Home Support Services and got it. I hired someone I already knew and she turned out to be great, bringing forth order and cleanliness out of disorder and dirt. This perked me up and shows that treatment for bipolar disorder is not just medical.

My psychiatrist moved but gave me plenty of notice in which to find another psychiatrist. Again I could have used a caseworker. Bipolar disorder and the need to treat it don't just go away.

I found another psychiatrist that would take Medicare/medical and here I am, with some disability but able to function pretty well due to somewhat successful treatment for bipolar disorder. Now if I could just get a caseworker.