My friend needs to find a residential treatment center for her  adult
brother with bipolar disorder.  She is looking for a facility with an
emphasis on an with an
emphasis on an alternative, nondrug treatment approach.  Her brother
does have financial resources.
A location in the western states would be welcome, but I think she
would be happy to know of any facilities you might be able to tell us
about.

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Request for Question Clarification by politicalguru-ga on 23 Jan 2004 06:18 PST

Dear Postmark, 

After extensive Research, which included several databases, I couldn't
find a treatment centre that totally fits your friend's approach. I
did find the following:
(1) Two places in the East (Connecticut and New Jersey) that offer
residential alternative treatment for adults, but are not totally
"non-drug".
(2) One place in the East (Whitman, MA) that offers a co-op community
with total no-drug treatment, but the support is done by fellow
members of the co-op, not by "management".
(3) One place in California that offers non-drug, alternative,
treatment, but only as a day-treatment.

In addition, I found a list of therapists and experts your friend
could consult with.

Would you like these solutions as an answer?

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Request for Question Clarification by techtor-ga on 26 Jan 2004 11:38 PST

Hello Postmark,
As an alternative, I found other centers, in addition to a website
with a directory of probably all mental health residential centers in
the United States, listed by state. If you find a list overwhelming, I
could just list several centers that might be close to or might fit
what you need.

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Clarification of Question by postmark-ga on 28 Jan 2004 22:18 PST

thank you for your response(s).  My friend, for whom I am posting this
question, will be out of town until next Wednesday, February 4.  When
she returns , I will pass along the answers I have received so she can
direct me on how to respond.  Thank you very much for help provide so
far!

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Request for Question Clarification by techtor-ga on 06 Feb 2004 05:39 PST

Greetings, I just wanted to know if you still wish to pursue the
matter in this question. If you do and it expires, you can post it
again, since I notice there's only a day or two before it does expire.
Thank you.

From personal experience, as well as observation of others, I have
found that manic tendencies (depression I have experienced little)
have certain BEHAVIORAL PRECUSORS, that certain actions like, drinking
too much coffee, not exercising, not eating properly, drinking too
much alcohol, not sleeping enough, no yoga, no meditation, slamming
too much computer, reading, listening, writing or whatever beyond your
brother's known limits, that is, whenever he chooses to do these
things he gets manic and out of control and usually he is clearly
knowledgeable about the behaviors that will cause his mania. 
Medication, whether, holistic or medical can help him cross over to
self restraint, balance and control without his crutch (medication)
that allows him to become unbalanced.
     Medicine allowed me to go way past my limits and correct my
stupidity/ignorance (It became stupid when I virtually knew that
certain behaviors would always cause me trouble) by using the
medication to get back to some sort of balance.  Finally I realized I
could stop using the medication by simply doing what I learned was
necessary for me to sustain a continuing hypomanic living style
wihtout falling on my psychological butt(MANIC!).  It was not easy -
especially since the medical establishment seems to really believe in
their pills and symptom management, as opposed to changing the
patients behavior, so he can function relatively normally without a
script from an MD.  I think, I broke myself many years ago because of
significant stress.
     This approach may not apply to your brother.  He may be
physically broken so he needs external help.  I don't know.  I would
suggest he investigates those states or behaviors that trigger his
mania (Write down a list!).  If that is the key, change his behavior. 
Mania is like sex, but stronger.  It is not easy to stop feeling like
a god!
     Maybe this will help you both a little.  I hope so.  I am living
it and am functioning pretty well, if and only if:  Exercise,
yoga/stretching, 3 good meals, no junk food,  minimum stress, no
smoking, sleep every night whether I want to or not,  little caffeine
only in the am, little alchohol, no drugs, long daily walks, balance
thinking activities with right hemisphere (art, music) activities, do
not slam the internet or anything else, moderation in virtually
everything until I gained significant control over myself, physical
work, and hopefully some kind of sexual outlet (Masterbation is safe!)
but in balance, helps... Moderation is the key to your brother's
freedom! (I believe)   Once your brother has developed BALANCE he can
experiment with the edges of his genius, but the INTERNAL control is
essential to avoid DISASTER!
                Good Luck            MacDempsey
p.s.  My motivation in writng this, other than possibly helping
another, is to re-enforce and reiterate my formula for health and
freedom from external drugs for myself.  My transition to "Normal" was
not easy, in fact it was very difficult.  Manic/Out of control felt so
good, butI didn't realize that Hypomanic day to day was possible at
the time.  It was HIGH or LOW and no inbetween.
good luck...

thank you very much indeed for your thoughtful response.  My friend,
for whom I have posted this question, is out of town for a week and
will back on February 4.  I will give her your response as soon as she
returns.
by the way,I think what you're suggesting as a life régime is probably
a very good prescription for good mental and physical health for any
and all of us!

hmmm...
From my perspective, a person who truly has Bipolar Disorder needs to
be treated medically. Insurance won't pay for inpatient / residential
non-drug treatment because it doesn't work AND they would be liable ,
as would any practioner, in the unhappy account that the patient
injured himself or others. Bipolar is depression with periods of time
when the person is manic - hyper. It is serious and has a high risk of
suicide, at the worst, and  significant disruption of personal and
family and working life.

Additionally, people don't get insurance to pay for residential unless
lower levels of care have been shown to be  inadequate. It's a
psychiatrist who has to have been treating the patient.

Everyone with true bipolar disease needs to be on lithium as part of
their treatment. It is the most effective medication to prevent
suicide.

There is a type of bipolar - bipolar II - that is periods of
depression with less severe mania [hypomania]  and fluctuates more
rapidly - days vs weeks.

I don't know where the diagosis came from, but if not a qualified
psychiatrist [and I'm not one so I'm not financially], it's possible
that  she is possibly misdiagnosed.

Bill

Macdempsey - just wanted to wish you good luck!