Course Description

Course fee: $255

Known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as a distinct psychiatric ailment characterized by cyclic extremes of mood and behavior, bipolar disorder remains today one of the most challenging mental illnesses for clinicians to address – challenging to identify, challenging to treat. Mainstream interventions adhering solely to psychopharmaceutical approaches are incomplete, and do not account for biologic factors that so often influence the trajectory of this complex disorder. Through a functional and integrative approach, it becomes possible to address etiologic factors that contribute to BD, and formulate targeted, personalized interventions for patient health.

Taught by Drs. Greenblatt and Bongiorno, this 3-module course presents a functional medicine model for the treatment of bipolar disorder inclusive of multiple therapeutic tiers, including medication, nutritional interventions, and natural therapies.

Instructors will present a novel functional medicine model for the treatment of BD, of which medication is just one of several therapeutic pillars. Approved pharmaceuticals for mania, depression, mixed-episodes, and maintenance will be reviewed in detail, after which the course will explore biochemical abnormalities associated with BD that open the doors to functional interventions. Genetics, nutritional deficiencies that impact neurotransmission and signaling cascades, mitochondrial dysfunction, and other factors will be examined, as will evidence-based interventions that address intrinsic imbalances, support balanced neurochemical signaling, and optimize affective regulation. Clinical pearls and concept-to-application bridges are offered throughout the course, supporting a collaborative, patient-provider paradigm that make balance possible.

Course Level

Introductory


Learning Objectives

After completing this program, participants will be able to:

  • Describe traditional psychopharmacology for bipolar disorder
  • Identify a functional medicine model for the treatment of bipolar disorder
  • Explain the relationship between mitochondrial function, bipolar disorder and treatment strategies
  • Analyze natural and integrative therapies for the treatment of bipolar disorder



All refunds must be requested within seven (7) days of enrollment. In order to qualify for a refund, learners must have progressed through less than 10% of the educational content in question. All refunds will be processed minus a 10% transaction fee.

Course Curriculum

    1. Integrative Medicine For Bipolar Disorder Module 1

    2. FIM Bipolar Disorder_Module 1 HANDOUT

    1. Integrative Medicine For Bipolar Disorder Module 2

    2. FIM Bipolar Disorder_Module 2 HANDOUT

    3. Integrative Medicine For Bipolar Disorder Module 3

    4. FIM Bipolar Disorder_Module 3 HANDOUT

    1. Chakrabarti.16. Treatment-adherence in bipolar disorder_A patient-centred approach

    2. Pipich.19. Bipolar Disorder and Suicide_What 12,000 Lives Can Teach Us

    3. Post.18. Multigenerational transmission of liability to psychiatric illness in offspring of parents with bipolar disorder

    4. Rowland.18. Epidemiology and risk factors for bipolar disorder

    5. Carta.15. The Burden of Depressive and Bipolar Disorders in Celiac Disease

    6. Dong M, Lu L, Zhang L, et al. Prevalence of suicide attempts in bipolar disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

    7. Rosenblat.17. Bipolar Disorder and Immune Dysfunction_Epidemiological Findings, Proposed Pathophysiology and Clinical Implications

    8. Lojko.19. Impaired Glucose Metabolism in Bipolar Patients_The Role of Psychiatrists in Its Detection and Management

    9. Liang L, Chen J, Xiao L, Wang Q, Wang G. Mitochondrial modulators in the treatment of bipolar depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    10. Cereda G, Enrico P, Ciappolino V, Delvecchio G, Brambilla P. The role of vitamin D in bipolar disorder: Epidemiology and influence on disease activity.

    11. Phillip, A. Gluten, Inflammation, and Neurodegeneration

    12. Volkmann C, Bschor T, Köhler S. Lithium Treatment Over the Lifespan in Bipolar Disorders.

    1. FIM Bipolar Disorder_Course Bibliography

About this course

  • $255.00
  • 19 lessons
  • 4.5 hours of video content

Course Faculty

James Greenblatt, MD

Founder, Chief Medical Officer

Dr. James Greenblatt is a globally recognized pioneer in functional and integrative psychiatry with over 30 years of clinical experience. He has dedicated his career to transforming the treatment of mental health disorders through precision-based approaches that integrate laboratory testing, nutritional interventions, and root-cause analysis. Dr. Greenblatt earned his medical degree and completed a psychiatry residency at George Washington University, and pursued a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at Johns Hopkins Medical School. A prolific author, Dr. Greenblatt has written eight books, including the bestseller Finally Focused: The Breakthrough Natural Treatment Plan for ADHD. He serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine and Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine. Previously, he served as Chief Medical Officer for Walden Behavioral Care/Monte Nido, a national mental health organization specializing in eating disorders. In 2019, Dr. Greenblatt founded Psychiatry Redefined, a leading platform for continuing education for clinicians in functional and integrative psychiatry, designed to bridge critical knowledge gaps for mental health professionals. His innovative work combines evidence-based research with decades of clinical expertise in functional and integrative psychiatry to promote personalized, precision medicine approaches for sustainable mental health outcomes. in 2024, Dr. Greenblatt founded Mind Refined, a consumer education platform in functional and integrative approaches to mental healthcare. Dr. Greenblatt lectures internationally on nutritional psychiatry and functional medicine’s transformative role in treating mental illnesses.

Peter Bongiorno, ND, LAc

Dr. Peter Bongiorno is a naturopathic doctor and acupuncturist and serves as co-medical director of InnerSource Natural Health and Acupuncture, a thriving practice with two clinics in New York (New York City and Long Island). He specializes in using integrative care to heal mood disorder. Dr. Bongiorno researched as a pre-doctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health, at the National Institute of Mental Health’s department of Clinical Neuroendocrinology, where he first studied the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis response to stress. He also researched at Yale University in the department of pharmacology before training at Bastyr University in naturopathic medicine and acupuncture. Peter is a sought after thought leader in the field of integrative medicine for mental health. He has spoken at the Integrative Medicine for Mental Health conference, for general session at A4M, at the Integrative Health Care Symposium in New York City, the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, Council for Responsible Nutrition, American Academy of Environmental Medicine, as well as to medical schools and functional medicine physician groups across the country. He is the immediate past president of the NY Association of Naturopathic Physicians and, was chosen naturopathic physician of the year in New York State in 2008. For more information, please visit www.DrPeterBongiorno.com