[Effects of Group Psychoeducation on stress reactivity neuroendocrine profile in stabilized bipolar patients. A controlled study].

Introduction: Patients with bipolar disorder show a high relapse rate generally related to their poor adherence to the prescribed medications and to their high stress vulnerability, linked to genetic, neuroendocrine and cognitive factors.

Aims: The first aim of this study was to verify if for a group of pharmacologically stabilized bipolar patients, the attendance to a Group Psychoeducation program according to the Barcelona model would result in an improvement of their stress resilience, as measurable by evaluating their morning cortisol secretory profile. The second aim of the study has been to verify if these effects would maintain stable over time, organizing follow-up evaluations, after one year and after two years form the end of the group psychoeducation program.