Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD)

The NIMH-funded Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD) is a long-term outpatient study designed to find out which treatments, or combinations of treatments, are most effective for treating episodes of depression and mania and for preventing recurrent episodes in people with bipolar disorder. This page provides comprehensive information about the study.

Questions and Answers

• Questions and Answers About the STEP-BD Depression Psychosocial Treatment Trial
• Questions and Answers about the STEP-BD Acute Depression Trial
• General Background Questions and Answers about the NIMH STEP-BD Acute Depression Medication Trial

News about the STEP-BD Study

• Press Release (April 2, 2008): Intensive Psychotherapy More Effective Than Brief Therapy for Treating Bipolar Depression
• Press Release (March 28, 2007): Study Sheds Light on Medication Treatment Options for Bipolar Disorder
• Science Update (Feb. 1, 2006): Early Findings from Largest NIMH-Funded Research Program on Bipolar Disorder Begin to Build Evidence-Base on Best Treatment Options

Related Information

• NIMH Bipolar Disorder Page
• Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD) from ClinicalTrials.gov 
• Limited Access Dataset from STEP-BD