Psychoeducational Psychotherapy in Adolescent Bipolar Disorder

February 6, 2026 updated by: Ezgi Karagoz Tanigor M.D., Dokuz Eylul University

The Effect of Psychoeducational Psychotherapy on Neurocognitive Functions, Quality of Life, And Emotion Regulation in Adolescents Diagnosed With Bipolar Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study evaluated the effects of psychoeducational psychotherapy (PEP) on neurocognitive functions, symptomatology, quality of life, and emotion regulation in euthymic adolescents with bipolar disorder (BD). Thirty-two adolescents with BD were randomized, with 16 receiving PEP. Assessments included the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Stroop Test, Pediatric Quality-of-Life Inventory, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Affective Reactivity Index, Young Mania Rating Scale, and Children's Depression Rating Scale.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study aimed to examine the impact of PEP on neurocognitive performance, symptom levels, quality of life, and emotion regulation among euthymic adolescents diagnosed with BD. A total of 32 adolescents meeting diagnostic criteria for BD were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (n = 16), which received PEP, or a control group receiving standard care. Participants were evaluated using a comprehensive assessment battery that included the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and the Stroop Test to measure executive functioning; the Pediatric Quality-of-Life Inventory to assess well-being; the DERS and the Affective Reactivity Index for emotional functioning; and the Young Mania Rating Scale and Children's Depression Rating Scale to evaluate mood symptoms.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

32

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • İzmir
      • Izmir, İzmir, Turkey (Türkiye), 35620
        • Dokuz Eylül University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients between the ages of 12 and 18 years who were diagnosed with BD (Bipolar Disorder)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of chronic medical disorders, a clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, mental retardation or intellectual disability (according to developmental/academic history and clinical examination), past or current epilepsy, brain injury, and cerebral palsy

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Psychoeducational psychotherapy (PEP)
PEP is a structured, manualized, family-focused psychotherapy based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Participants were invited to participate in weekly parent and child sessions over a 12-week period. Each session lasted approximately 45-50 minutes, with a total of 24 sessions available throughout the trial. Parental involvement was incorporated into every PEP session, with parents joining for 5-10 minutes at the beginning of each child session to discuss the child's progress and for another 5-10 minutes at the end to review newly introduced material.
Behavioral: Psychoeducational psychotherapy (PEP)
PEP is a structured, manualized, family-focused psychotherapy based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Participants were invited to participate in weekly parent and child sessions over a 12-week period. Each session lasted approximately 45-50 minutes, with a total of 24 sessions available throughout the trial. Parental involvement was incorporated into every PEP session, with parents joining for 5-10 minutes at the beginning of each child session to discuss the child's progress and for another 5-10 minutes at the end to review newly introduced material.
No Intervention: Control
Control group who received routine treatment and care.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS)
Time Frame: 12 weeks
The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) assesses emotion regulation (ER) problems in adolescents across six domains: goals, strategies, impulsivity, awareness, clarity, and non-acceptance. Higher scores reflect greater ER difficulties. The Turkish version demonstrated good reliability and validity.
12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test
Time Frame: 12 weeks
WCST is a test reflecting set-shifting which is defined as the flexibility in responses due to changes in reinforcement
12 weeks
The Pediatric Quality of life Inventory (PedsQL)
Time Frame: 12 weeks
The PedsQL scale was used to assess problems within the multidimensional health-related quality of life in the last month. This is a modular instrument that is designed to measure health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among children and adolescents aged 2 to 18 years
12 weeks
Affective Reactivity Index-Child and Parent Forms
Time Frame: 12 weeks
The Affective Reactivity Index-Child and Parent Forms is a scale developed for the evaluation and monitoring of irritability according to the reports of children and parents. Total scores range from 0 to 12, with higher scores indicating greater levels of irritability and thus a worse clinical outcome.
12 weeks
Young Mania Rating Scale
Time Frame: 12 weeks
The Young Mania Rating Scale is an eleven item, likert-type scale that evaluates the symptoms of mania over the previous 48 hours or week, according to clinical observations and patient reports.The total score obtained from the scale ranges from 0 to 60, with higher scores indicating more severe manic symptoms.
12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Dokuz Eylul University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 24, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 23, 2022

Study Completion (Actual)

December 23, 2022

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 1, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 1, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

February 9, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 6, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 354-SBKAEK

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Can not be shared due to ethical concerns

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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