Course Summary

Co-occurring bipolar disorder and substance use disorder pose a serious health risk to affected individuals. Patients with dual diagnoses may experience substantial challenges during treatment for their mental illness and recovery from substance use. Early diagnosis and intervention can significantly improve the potential outcomes for patients with a dual diagnosis. The changes made in this area within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders guide health clinicians managing bipolar disorder complicated by a substance use disorder to lower the health risks throughout the age spectrum.  This is the second in a three part series on this topic.

Course Format

Homestudy

Course Syllabus

  • I.              Introduction
  • II.           DSM-5 Criteria: Comorbid Bipolar and Substance Use Disorder
    • 1.   Neurobiological Pathways
    • 2.   Genetics
    • 3.   Cannabis Use and Psychosis
    • 4.   Emotions and Energy
  • III.         Mood Disorder and Self-Medicating
    • 1.   Co-occurring Substance Use and Mood Disorder
    • 2.   Cannabis Use and Bipolar Disorder
    • 3.   Alcohol Use and Bipolar Disorder
    • 4.   Stimulant Use and Bipolar Disorder
    • 5.   Self-medicating to “Help Treatment Along”
  • IV.          Substance Use as a Mood Trigger
    • 1.   Medication-induced Mania
    • 2.   Cannabis and Mania
    • 3.   Alcohol and Other Substance-induced Mania
  • V.            Identification of a Drug-induced Mood Disorder
  • VI.          Case Study: Cannabis-induced Bipolar Disorder Episode
  • VII.       Summary

Author

Dana Bartlett, RN, BSN, MSN, MA, CSPI

Dana Bartlett is a professional nurse and author. His clinical experience includes 16 years of ICU and ER experience and over 27 years as a poison control center information specialist. Dana has published numerous CE and journal articles, written NCLEX material, textbook chapters, and more than 100 online CE articles, and done editing and reviewing for publishers such as Elsevier, Lippincott, and Thieme. He has written widely on the subject of toxicology and was a contributing editor, toxicology section, for Critical Care Nurse journal. He is currently employed at the Connecticut Poison Control Center. He lives in Wappingers Falls, NY.