There are many psychiatric and general hospitals in Massachusetts that treat bipolar, or manic depression, disorders. Manic depression is a psychotic disorder---or one that often involves loss of contact with reality, delusions and hallucination. Bipolar disorder is characterized by wide mood swings: from depression, accompanied by such symptoms as lethargy, excessive crying and suicidal thoughts to an elated manic state in which self-esteem is inflated, energy and euphoria high and physical agitation and sleeplessness increased. Bipolar disorders affect more than 5.7 million Americans. According to the Massachusetts General Hospital, it may run in families, is sometimes believed to be hereditary and current research is searching for a gene that may cause it.
Hospital Rankings in Massachusetts
U.S. News & World Report annually ranks the top 24 hospitals for psychiatry in America. The ranking is based on the hospitals considered best for challenging cases by at least 3 percent of psychiatric specialists. In 2010, three Massachusetts hospitals were listed: Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, ranked first; McLean Hospital, in Belmont, ranked third; and Austen Riggs Center, in Stockbridge, ranked 11th. Several Massachusetts hospitals were also listed among 136 U.S. psychiatric hospitals receiving nominations from one or more psychiatric specialists.
Massachusetts General Hospital
Mass General, founded in 1811, is the third oldest general hospital in the U.S. The 900-bed hospital is the largest teaching hospital of the Harvard Medical School. Treatment for bipolar disorders includes one or a combination of the following: medication (for example, mood stabilizing anticonvulsants and/or antidepressants); psychotherapy (stressing such things as developing realistic views and handling difficult relationships); and electroconvulsive shock therapy. Long-term treatment is usually necessary.
McLean Hospital
McLean Hospital, a psychiatric hospital founded in 1811, is an affiliate of Mass General and one of Harvard Medical School's teaching facilities. Treatment for bipolar disorder, one of the most challenging psychiatric disorders, may include psycho-pharmacology to restore functioning and manage symptoms; psychotherapy, patient and family education; and support and rehabilitation in a therapeutic environment. The bipolar program offers outpatient as well as inpatient care in the 28-bed unit.
Austen Riggs Center
Established in 1919, Riggs provides intense psychodynamic therapy in a community setting that is open and sensitive. Psychodynamic therapy evaluates emotional forces of early childhood and their effects on patients' current behavior and mental illness. Treatment involves the exploration of painful life experiences often in a setting of mutual problem solving with other patients and staff. Riggs has inpatient and residential programs. Its well-known Erikson Institute for Education and Research conducts research and teaching programs.
Additional Hospitals
The U.S. News & World Report's ranking of the top 24 hospitals in psychiatry in the U.S. contained a second list of the top 136 hospitals. Some of the Massachusetts hospitals included were Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in Boston; Cambridge Health Alliance, with campuses in Cambridge, Boston and Somerville; Hallmark Hospital, in Melrose; and University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center, in Worcester.
