Chris Aiken, MD, is the director of the Mood Treatment Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and an instructor at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He is active in medical research and has published on the treatment and diagnosis of mood disorders. Dr. Aiken began his career as a research assistant at the National Institute of Mental Health and completed his medical training at Yale, Cornell and Duke University Medical Centers. James Phelps, MD, is director of the Mood Disorders program at Samaritan Mental Health in Corvallis, Oregon, which serves a five-hospital system. Prior to joining Samaritan Mental Health, Dr. Phelps held a private practice in Corvallis while writing an internationally known website, PsychEducation.org, and teaching across the U.S. He is recognized as a national expert on the topic of bipolar disorder, and has published more than 15 books and journal articles pertaining to mental health.
"""Perfect book for the patient. Great information and many pearls, including how to help your doctor help you. I highly recommend it."" -- Robert M. Post, MD, Head, Bipolar Collaborative Network, Professor of Psychiatry, George Washington School of Medicine, former Chief of the NIMH's Biological Psychiatry Branch ""Drs. Aiken and Phelps have provided a great yet easy-to-read book for those with depressive and other symptoms that have burdened them and their loved ones for too long. When antidepressants and therapy alone don't work, Bipolar, Not So Much offers insights into what may be the real diagnosis. This informative book gives important clues to better identify the different shades of depressive and bipolar disorders. From those clues, it guides people towards the steps they need to recover. It includes up-to-date reviews of medications, natural and lifestyle approaches, as well as useful tips for living more effectively with mood problems in relationships and at work."" -- Richard Weisler, MD, Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center ""Explaining the concept of the mood disorder spectrum can be a formidable task for any psychiatric provider. Kudos to Drs. Aiken and Phelps for addressing this challenge by providing an easily accessible understanding of the mood disorder spectrum and its treatment, including how to live well with the diagnosis by offering lifestyle tips and numerous online resources. This will be my go to book for patients and their families!"" -- Dana Hillyer, Psychiatric Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist, APRN ""This book is packed with information that will enable patients to understand their bipolar spectrum disorder, how to collaborate with their provider, and how to use important methods of self-management of their moods. My work is greatly enhanced when patients come armed with this knowledge. Families and patients will appreciate the informal tone of this book and the demystification of these concepts."" -- Robert Caldwell, MD ""This book is a must-read for all psychiatrists and therapists who work with those on the mood spectrum as well as their families. The authors are thought leaders who are able to translate their clinical experiences and the medical literature into language all can understand."" -- Tammas Kelly, MD, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, George Washington University, Washington DC"