As a part of the MEASURE™ educational initiative, materials have been designed to teach patients and their families more about bipolar disorder.
Educational materials are offered in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. If needed, you can acquire the free Acrobat Reader software here.
MEASURE™ Patient Education Tools
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Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D)
The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D, HRSD) is an observer-rated scale consisting of 17 to 21 items and takes 20-30 minutes to complete. The strengths of the HAM-D include its excellent validation/research base, and ease of administration. Although the author intended the scale to be utilized only in patients with primary depression, in real-life settings the scale is sometimes used to evaluate depressive symptoms in patients with other disorders, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.Download the scale. |
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Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS)
The Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) is one of the most frequently utilized rating scales used to evaluate manic symptoms at baseline and over time in individuals with mania. This scale takes 15–30 minutes to complete and consists of 11 items based on the patient’s subjective report of his or her clinical condition over the previous 48 hours. Strengths of the YMRS include its brevity, widely accepted use, and ease of administration.Download the scale. |
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The Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ)
The MDQ was first published in the American Journal of Psychiatry by Robert M. A. Hirschfeld, MD. It was developed to help screen for possible symptoms of bipolar disorder. The questionnaire takes about 5 minutes to complete, and can provide important insights into the need for further evaluation and diagnosis.Click here for the article. |
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Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale (BSDS)
The BSDS was published in the Journal of Affective Disorder by S. Nassir Ghaemi, MD. It screens for subtle versions of bipolar disorder and can help rate the probability of bipolar disorder as high, moderate, low, or very unlikely.Download the scale. |
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Mood Tracking Diary
The mood tracking diary allows for the tracking of moods, medication use and comments on a daily basis, enabling your patients to review their conditions with you in detail for a month's period.Download the diary. |
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Living a Healthy Life with Bipolar Disorder
This pamphlet promotes a holistic approach to treatment along with guidance from health care professionals. Essential elements in this proposed treatment model include diet, exercise, mood control techniques, and effective support systems. Download the pamphlet. |
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Stages of Adjustment to Bipolar Disorder
This worksheet refers to Kubler-Ross’s five stages of adjusting to loss–denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. It is intended to help the patient adjust to the idea of having a chronic mental illness. Once the patient has written their thoughts and actions, they can review the worksheet with their health care professional, identify past and current stages, and work toward acceptance.Download the worksheet. |
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Treatment Adherence Fact Sheet
The Treatment Adherence Fact Sheet defines adherence, describes why adherence is difficult for many people with bipolar disorder, and tells the patient what they can do to better adhere to their treatment regimen. It also provides some basic facts about the medication treatment of bipolar disorder. Encourage your patient to respond to the statements and discuss their beliefs with you.Download the worksheet. |
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How to Tell Friends & Family Members
The difficult part for many people is telling family, friends, and other loved ones about the diagnosis, given the stigma and ignorance in regard to mental illness. This pamphlet is designed to assist the patient, caregiver, partner, parent, or friend of someone with a mental illness in coming to terms with their feelings.Download the pamphlet. |
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Helping a Loved One
It's important for people with bipolar disorder to be active in their own care, but the support of a loved one can be valuable in helping them cope with their condition. For families and friends, a diagnosis of bipolar disorder can be difficult to accept. But it can also be a relief. Finally, a reason for the unpredictable mood swings has been identified, and treatment can begin. This pamphlet provides some tips that might help a loved one cope.Download the pamphlet. |
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Going to Work
Bipolar disorder can have a big effect on work life. Coping with a mental disorder while at work can be challenging and many people choose, because of stigma, not to reveal their situation to their coworkers. This pamphlet contains tips and ideas that may help with this complex dilemma.Download the pamphlet. |
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
A list of frequently asked questions has been developed to help your patients and their family members better understand bipolar disorder. This pamphlet also contains a list of web sites to help them find additional information about bipolar disorder.Download the pamphlet. |
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