Therapy on daily habits made days more steady, but only later on
Who it’s about: Adults, People with a health condition
- Mixed
Twelve weekly sessions on steady days left days steadier than usual care at a later check, but not right after.
- Action: Track your progresstested
- Action: Learn how the problem workstested
- Rule: At the same time every daytested
- Rule: With a coach or therapistused
- Rule: In weekly sessionsused
Small randomised trial of 63 adults with bipolar disorder in Egypt · vs usual care with medicine · they rated themselves · ⚠ summary claims more than the results show
The study
Who took part
63 adults with bipolar disorder at a clinic in Alexandria, Egypt, were counted. 32 had the therapy and 31 had usual care. Most were in their twenties.
What they did
One group had 12 weekly one-to-one sessions of about 75 minutes. They learned about the illness and how to track their days and keep them steady. They also worked on problems with other people, did homework, and got phone support twice a week. The other group had usual care with medicine.
What happened
Right after the 12 weeks, both groups rated their days as about equally steady. At a later check, the therapy group rated their days as more steady, and the gap was fairly large. The paper is unclear about when that later check was. Its conclusions go further than its results.
Source
Stabilizing Sleep-Wake Cycles and Social Functioning in Bipolar Disorders: Effect of Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (2026)
DOI: 10.3390/jcm15031071 (opens in a new tab)Tools in this study
Action4
Learn how the problem worksPsychoeducation about procrastination, habits, sleep, routines or ADHD.
