The special outpatient clinic for bipolar affective disorders is run by an interdisciplinary team of specialists and residents in psychiatry and psychotherapeutic medicine, clinical psychologists, students, research assistants and a biomedical analyst.
As a clinical care and research special ambulance, we offer a broad range of treatment options.
In an initial consultation lasting about one hour, we will first conduct an extended diagnosis and treatment, including a survey of your current complaints, your medical history to date, and any previous drug and/or psychological or psychotherapeutic treatments. Therefore, please bring your previous findings with you if they are available. It is important to us to work out a treatment plan together with you that complements the specialist and psychotherapeutic/psychological care you receive in your own practice. If you have a suspected diagnosis of bipolar disorder or if you have special concerns (e.g., desire to become pregnant with bipolar disorder), you have come to the right place. Whether further appointments are necessary, you will arrange with your doctor individually. It may make sense to change your current drug therapy. In this case, closer monitoring may be necessary at first.
An essential part of the treatment of bipolar disorder is that the affected person becomes an expert on his or her own disorder and thus develops effective strategies for dealing with the disorder. The goal of psychoeducation is to provide knowledge about the symptoms and biological basis of the disorder as well as possible drug and non-drug treatment strategies in order to identify triggers and recognize early warning signs in time. In addition, in a group setting, you can learn about your own individual early warning signs of a disease episode in order to develop strategies to treat them in the future.
By participating in scientific projects, you can make an active contribution to research into bipolar disorder. Depending on the study, different examinations will be carried out, and you will of course receive feedback on all results at your request. As part of participation in our long-term study, a comprehensive blood analysis, an examination of cognitive abilities, and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain are performed every six months.
Self-help groups play a special role in bipolar disorder. They give affected persons the opportunity to exchange information about the mental illness, about current problems or positive events.
This group is self-organized (without medical/psychological guidance) and currently takes place on every 1st Thursday of the month at 5:30 pm in the seminar room of the Clinical Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine of the LKH University Hospital Graz.
For data protection reasons, we ask you to write an e-mail to bipolar-spezialambulanz(at)medunigraz.at if you are interested and agree to the transfer of your data to the self-help group.
Regular lecture evenings (starting at 5:00 pm) are held for those affected and their relatives. Employees of the special outpatient clinic or external experts give lectures on relevant topics in connection with bipolar disorder. Afterwards, there is the possibility to exchange ideas in an informal atmosphere and to participate in the self-help group. If necessary, a group of relatives is also offered.
