Cognitive Stimulation for Elderly Bipolar Patients

Bipolar disorders, which belong to the category of mood disorders, are the 6th leading cause of disability in the world. Cognitive disorders are known to exist during the phases of bipolar disease, and alterations increase significantly after the age of 65. Recent studies have shown that attention, memory and executive function impairments are the main causes of cognitive disorders. Residual symptoms have a significant impact on the risk of relapse into bipolar disorder and on quality of life. Cognitive stimulation (CS) is a pedagogical approach based on the idea that cognitive skills contribute to personal development in the same way as psychological and social factors. This study aims at assessing a cognitive stimulation program initially developed for patients with neurodegenerative diseases, and adapted to bipolar disease. This program will be compared to the usual practice consisting in consultation with psychiatrist and sometimes in intervention of home nurses.