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The experience of mood change over time for people diagnosed with bipolar disorder: a longitudinal interpretative phenomenological analysis

Farr, Joanna and Smith, Jonathan and Rhodes, John (2024) The experience of mood change over time for people diagnosed with bipolar disorder: a longitudinal interpretative phenomenological analysis. Counselling Psychology Quarterly , ISSN 0951-5070.

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Abstract

Living with episodes of mania and depression is recognised to instil profound instability in people diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but little is known about how these mood changes arise through a person’s trajectory over time. This longitudinal study aimed to investigate the experience of mood change within and between bipolar disorder episodes. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three women at two time points and were analysed using longitudinal interpretative phenomenological analysis to form idiographic trajectories. Three longitudinal themes illustrated the changing experiences of participants during periods of depression, euthymia (stability) and mania: (i) Extreme changes in activity and agency, (ii) Changes in feelings and connectivity, (iii) Shifting sense of the future disrupts momentum. The findings highlighted trajectories of change in key areas of the participants’ lives including activity levels, routine and agency, intensity of feelings and connectivity, and their sense of the future and progression. Changes experienced during episodes were cumulative, impacting participants’ ability to reconnect, take control and move forward during euthymia. The clinical value of mapping a client’s sense of change across BD phases is indicated, along with the need to build agency, progression and connectivity during euthymic periods. Suggestions for research and practice are discussed.

Metadata

Item Type: Article
School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences
Research Centres and Institutes: Interdisciplinary Research on Mental Health, Birkbeck Centre for
Depositing User: Joanna Farr
Date Deposited: 12 Sep 2024 18:06
Last Modified: 21 Feb 2025 19:14
URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/54255

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