Family Therapy and Lithium Deficiency*

Lithium carbonate's usefulness in relieving the more dramatic symptoms of bipolar-affective disorder can obscure the family systems components of this illness. A compromised form of family therapy results which may stabilize the marriage but cause troubles for the larger family system. This paper offers a partial modus operandi for keeping family therapy systems oriented and avoiding the infantilization of the identified patient which occurs when the importance of purely medical treatment is overplayed.