There is a growing need among people with bipolar disorder, their relatives, and professionals for a more integrated approach to mental health recovery. This means a greater focus on promoting well-being and personal recovery in addition to reducing symptoms. In collaboration with several mental healthcare institutes (Dimence, GGZ inGeest, Mediant, GGNet, GGZ Drenthe), the Dutch knowledge center for bipolar disorders (KenBiS), and the patient association for people with bipolar disorder and their relatives (Plusminus), our research group has developed and evaluated the positive psychology course "Living well with bipolar disorder”. The course is offered as an 8-week group course within mental health institutes and consists of eight sessions including different topics, such as self-compassion, positive relationships and meaning. Our previous research has shown that the course is effective in sustainably promoting well-being and personal recovery
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bdi.13313. We were also able to show that broad implementation of the course would result in cost savings. Although the program is (cost)effective and fits well with the needs of patients and professionals, it has not yet been widely and sustainably implemented in mental healthcare.
The current project is about the nationwide and sustainable implementation of the program "Living well with bipolar disorder" in mental healthcare. The project will last two years and includes three phases. In the first phase you will explore implementation factors and develop implementation materials and strategies together with patients (ervaringsdeskundige) and professionals. In the second phase, you will work on the large-scale implementation of the course. This will be based on the materials and strategies developed in the previous phase. The goal is to sustainably implement the program in at least half of all mental healthcare institutes in the Netherlands that provide care for people with bipolar disorders. You will evaluate the implementation using quantitative and qualitative methods. In the third phase you will prepare a process report. This will incorporate experiences from the implementation process and recommendations to ensure continuous and effective implementation after the project. You will also publish results from the implementation process in international scientific journals.
With this project you will make a direct contribution to improving mental healthcare. Implementation of evidence-based interventions is a very complex and challenging process that requires a lot of creativity, resilience and patience. If successful, this project will have a great clinical and societal impact because the broad and sustainable implementation will result in many patients benefiting from an effective intervention. You will work in an interdisciplinary project involving several partners, including many different mental healthcare institutes, KenBiS and Plusminus. During the project you will also actively collaborate with both professionals and patients. The project therefore also offers an optimal opportunity to build up a broad network in mental healthcare and to develop yourself further in skills around communication and project management.