The Bipolar Commission was launched at our first online conference on World Bipolar Day (30 March 2021). Its aims? To reduce the risk of suicide and to transform healthcare for people living with bipolar.

You can watch the launch of the Bipolar Commission here - the launch runs from the beginning until 54 minutes in...

The Commission brought together 22 commissioners who represent a broad cross-section of the bipolar professional and lived-experience community with a balance of ages, ethnicities, sexualities, gender identities and geographic locations. Professional experts include healthcare economists, leading academics, therapists and frontline clinicians, including psychiatrists and GPs. Nearly all the Commissioners either live with bipolar or have a close family member with it.

The Commission is co-chaired by Professor Guy Goodwin, Emeritus Professor at Oxford University, and Dr Clare Dolman, a patient participation lead at King’s College London, who is herself living with bipolar. The secretariat has been provided by Bipolar UK.

The Commission's research methodology has included a look at the current literature, stakeholder and patient interviews and a series of comprehensive online surveys of the community.

The first interim report, 'Why Diagnosis Matters' was published in October 2021 and focuses on what bipolar is, and what causes and triggers it, and provides vital insights into patient experiences of getting a diagnosis.

The second interim report, 'Hidden In Plain Sight' due to be published on 30 March 2022, focuses on the lived experience of the bipolar community to paint a comprehensive picture of what it’s like living with bipolar in the UK today. 

The full Bipolar Commission report collating all our evidence will be published in June 2022.

The Commission is about mobilisation: to provide a common goal and a route forward towards achieving it. At this stage the Commission acknowledges it is uncovering more questions than answers, but it’s the start of a national conversation. We are determined to get the voices of our community heard by decision makers and the wider public at large.