Questions? Call or text—
Anywhere Clinic
Woman attending an online mental health appointment from home on a laptop

Bipolar care by video

Online Bipolar Disorder Treatment

Bipolar care by secure video with a licensed psychiatric clinician: a careful look at your mood history, medication decisions made with you, and lab monitoring when your medication needs it.

  • Secure video visits
  • Available in 47 states and Washington, D.C.
  • Insurance where we're in network, or $150 self-pay
  • Lab monitoring explained

Not for emergencies. If you're thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988, or call 911 if you're in immediate danger.

Book an online bipolar evaluation

Choose your state to see clinicians who treat bipolar disorder and take new patients online. Choose “Use insurance” to check your plan’s network status before you book.

Georgia requires an in-person visit within 12 months. Visits before then can be by secure video. Call (702) 848-2256 to schedule.

Yes, you can get bipolar treatment online. A licensed psychiatric clinician meets you by secure video, reviews your mood history, and builds a plan that can include medication management, the lab monitoring it needs, and therapy referrals. Online bipolar care is available in 47 states and Washington, D.C., with insurance when the clinician is in network with your plan, or $150 per visit self-pay.

How it works

Bipolar disorder treatment online: what care includes

Online bipolar disorder treatment, also called telehealth or virtual psychiatry for bipolar disorder, is psychiatric care by secure video: an evaluation, a diagnosis when the history supports one, medication management, and regular follow-up. To diagnose bipolar disorder, a clinician looks at how severe your symptoms were, how long they lasted, and how often they've happened over your lifetime, along with your family history, and may rule out other illnesses with medical tests (NIMH).

  1. 1

    Book a video visit

    Pick a licensed psychiatric clinician who sees patients in your state in the booking box above. Use insurance if they're in network with your plan, or pay $150 per visit.

  2. 2

    First visit: a full evaluation

    About 30 to 40 minutes by secure video. Your clinician asks about past highs and lows, sleep, family history, substance use, past medicines, and safety, and may suggest tests to rule out medical causes such as thyroid problems.

  3. 3

    A plan you agree on

    If bipolar disorder fits, you talk through options: medication when it's appropriate, the blood tests it needs, and therapy referrals. Sometimes the diagnosis takes more than one visit.

  4. 4

    Follow-up by video

    Regular visits to check mood, sleep, side effects, and lab results, and to adjust the plan. Visits are often closer together at the start.

It helps to bring a list of your medicines and doses, recent lab results, and, if you can, a family member or partner's view of your mood changes. NICE suggests inviting a family member or carer to add to the history (NICE CG185). Not sure whether past highs count? Take the free bipolar test (MDQ) before your visit and bring the result.

Online bipolar care is available in 47 states and Washington, D.C. Mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotics aren't on the DEA's list of controlled substances (DEA), so the federal limits on prescribing controlled substances by telehealth don't apply to them. That's why bipolar care is still available in the states we serve where we can't prescribe controlled substances: Alabama, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Already diagnosed and switching from another prescriber? Keep taking your medicines as prescribed, and bring your medication list and recent labs to the first visit. Your new clinician reviews them and decides whether to continue, adjust, or change the plan. Talk therapy is often recommended alongside medication; your clinician can talk through therapy options and referrals, and you can read about online talk therapy.

Medication management

Bipolar medication management online: mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and labs

Medication is usually the core of bipolar treatment, and the medicines used most often are mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotics (NIMH). Which one, if any, is right for you is your clinician's decision after an evaluation, based on your symptoms, past response, other health conditions, pregnancy plans, and other medicines. No specific medicine is promised, and prescriptions are never guaranteed.

Mood stabilizers

Mood stabilizers such as lithium or valproate can help prevent mood episodes or make them less severe, and lithium can also lower the risk of suicide (NIMH). Lamotrigine is FDA-approved to delay new mood episodes in bipolar I maintenance, not to treat acute mania, and its label carries a boxed warning for serious rash (Lamictal label).

Atypical antipsychotics

Atypical antipsychotics are the other group used most often (NIMH). Quetiapine's label, for example, covers manic episodes of bipolar I and depressive episodes of bipolar disorder. The class can raise blood sugar, cholesterol, and weight, so the label calls for fasting lipid tests at the start of and during treatment, and glucose checks for people with or at risk of diabetes (Seroquel label). NICE recommends measuring weight, pulse, blood pressure, glucose, and lipids before starting (NICE CG185).

Lithium monitoring and labs

Lithium works in a narrow range: toxicity can happen at doses close to the therapeutic level, so its label says blood-level testing must be available before treatment starts. Before lithium, the label calls for kidney function, thyroid function, electrolytes, vital signs, and, when relevant, pregnancy status. Lithium levels are then checked until you're stable, and again after dose changes, new interacting medicines, or illness (lithium label).

UK NICE guidance checks the lithium level 1 week after starting and 1 week after each dose change, then weekly until stable, then every 3 months for the first year and every 6 months after that (every 3 months for some people), with kidney function, thyroid function, and calcium every 6 months (NICE CG185).

Valproate

Valproate's label carries boxed warnings for liver damage and for harm to a developing baby, calls for liver tests before and during treatment, and says it shouldn't be used for bipolar disorder in pregnancy or when planning a pregnancy unless other medicines haven't worked (Depakote label). NICE adds a blood count and a weight check when starting (NICE CG185).

How labs work with online visits

Blood tests are done in person at a lab near you, often arranged through your primary care doctor, and your clinician reviews the results with you by video. Whether your clinician can order labs directly depends on state rules. If regular blood tests would be hard for you, say so at your visit, because it affects which medicines are practical.

Medicines for sleep or anxiety are sometimes added to a bipolar plan (NIMH), and some of them, such as benzodiazepines, are controlled substances. We can't prescribe controlled substances in Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania or West Virginia, and elsewhere a controlled prescription may need an in-person visit. Federal telehealth rules for controlled substances are temporary through Dec 31, 2026 and may change. Read more about why continuity matters in bipolar medication management.

Safety

Why antidepressants alone can be risky in bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is often first diagnosed and treated as depression (Angst et al., 2005). If the signs are missed and a depressive episode is treated with an antidepressant alone, without a mood stabilizer, the antidepressant can trigger a manic episode or rapid cycling (NIMH). That's why the FDA label for sertraline, for example, tells prescribers to screen for a personal or family history of bipolar disorder, mania, or hypomania before starting it or another antidepressant (Zoloft label).

An international expert task force found weak evidence for antidepressants in bipolar disorder, named switching into hypomania, mania, or mixed states as a major concern, and concluded that in bipolar I they should be prescribed only alongside a mood-stabilizing medicine (ISBD task force, 2013). NICE also advises considering stopping an antidepressant taken on its own if mania or hypomania develops (NICE CG185).

What this means for you: if you've had stretches of unusually high energy, little need for sleep, or racing thoughts, tell your clinician, especially before starting an antidepressant. If you already take one and recognize these signs, don't stop it on your own. Book a visit or call your prescriber. Low mood is the main problem right now? The free depression test (PHQ-9) and bipolar test (MDQ) together give your clinician a fuller picture.

Diagnosis

Bipolar I vs. bipolar II vs. cyclothymia

There are three basic types of bipolar disorder, defined by how intense and how long the highs and lows are (NIMH). The type matters for treatment: in the ISBD task force's review, antidepressant-related mood elevations appeared more frequent and more severe in bipolar I than in bipolar II (ISBD task force, 2013).

Bipolar I disorder

Manic episodes that last at least 7 days, most of the day nearly every day, or that are severe enough to need hospital care. Depressive episodes, typically at least 2 weeks long, usually happen too.

Bipolar II disorder

Depressive episodes and hypomanic episodes. Hypomania is like mania but less severe, and many people with bipolar II spend long stretches in a low-grade depression.

Cyclothymia

Hypomanic and depressive symptoms that keep coming back but aren't intense or long enough to count as hypomanic or depressive episodes.

When symptoms point to bipolar disorder but don't match any of the three, clinicians use other specified or unspecified bipolar and related disorders (NIMH). Thyroid problems, substance or alcohol use, ADHD, and some other conditions can look like bipolar disorder, so your clinician considers those too (NICE CG185). Read more about bipolar II disorder.

Safety

When you need in-person or crisis care

If you are having thoughts of harming yourself, call or text 988 now.

The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential, and open 24/7 (veterans, press 1). If you are in immediate danger, call 911. Anywhere Clinic is not an emergency service.

Call 988Text 988

Call or text 988, or call 911, right away for any of these:

  • Thoughts of suicide with a plan or intent, or feeling unable to stay safe
  • Thoughts of harming someone else
  • Hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, or severe confusion
  • Severe mania with dangerous behavior, or being unable to take care of basic needs
  • Several nights without sleep with rising energy, agitation, or irritability

Signs of lithium toxicity need urgent in-person care: tremor that gets worse, unsteadiness, confusion, slurred speech, or nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea (lithium label). Telehealth isn't designed for emergency stabilization. If you need hospital care or closer monitoring than video visits allow, your clinician will help you find in-person or higher-level care.

Sources

  1. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Bipolar Disorder.
  2. NICE. Bipolar disorder: assessment and management (CG185), recommendations.
  3. Lithium carbonate tablets and capsules, prescribing information (DailyMed).
  4. Depakote (divalproex sodium), prescribing information (DailyMed).
  5. Lamictal (lamotrigine), prescribing information (DailyMed).
  6. Seroquel (quetiapine), prescribing information (DailyMed).
  7. Zoloft (sertraline), prescribing information (DailyMed).
  8. Pacchiarotti I, et al. The International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) task force report on antidepressant use in bipolar disorders. Am J Psychiatry. 2013;170(11):1249-1262.
  9. Angst J, et al. The HCL-32: towards a self-assessment tool for hypomanic symptoms in outpatients. J Affect Disord. 2005;88(2):217-233.
  10. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Controlled Substances, alphabetical order.

Written by Anywhere Clinic for education. It isn't medical advice for your situation, and it doesn't replace an evaluation. Medication decisions are made by a licensed clinician.

Take the free bipolar test first

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can I get bipolar treatment online?
Yes, for many people. A licensed psychiatric clinician can evaluate your symptoms, diagnose bipolar disorder, manage medication, and see you for follow-ups by secure video. Your clinician decides case by case whether telehealth is right for you. Severe mania, psychosis, or a safety crisis needs in-person or emergency care. Telehealth is not for emergencies: call or text 988, or call 911.
Can I get bipolar medication online?
Yes, if a licensed clinician decides it's right for you after an evaluation. No specific medicine is promised in advance, and prescriptions are never guaranteed. The medicines used most often for bipolar disorder, mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotics, aren't controlled substances, so they can be prescribed after a video visit. Some, such as lithium and valproate, need regular blood tests at a lab near you. Controlled sleep or anxiety medicines are different: we can't prescribe controlled substances in Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania or West Virginia, and elsewhere they may need an in-person visit. Federal telehealth rules for controlled substances are temporary through Dec 31, 2026 and may change.
Do you take insurance for bipolar treatment?
Yes, when the clinician you book is in network with your plan in your state. Network status depends on your state and your plan, so choose Use insurance in the booking box to see which clinicians are in network for your plan before you book. Medicaid can only be billed when the clinician is in network with your Medicaid plan. If we aren't in network with your plan, self-pay is $150 per visit, for new and follow-up visits.
Can an online psychiatrist diagnose bipolar disorder?
Yes. A licensed psychiatric clinician can diagnose bipolar disorder by video. The diagnosis rests on your history: how severe your highs and lows were, how long they lasted, how often they happened over your lifetime, and your family history. Your clinician may also suggest tests to rule out medical causes, such as thyroid problems, and it sometimes takes more than one visit. A screening quiz such as the MDQ can't diagnose bipolar disorder on its own.
Who provides bipolar treatment online?
A licensed psychiatric clinician who sees patients in your state. Depending on your state, that may be a psychiatrist, a physician assistant, or a nurse practitioner who works in psychiatry. Each card in the booking box shows the clinician's credentials.
Which states can I get online bipolar treatment in?
Online bipolar care is available in 47 states and Washington, D.C. Pick your state in the booking box to see the clinicians who take new patients there. Because mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotics aren't controlled substances, bipolar care is still available in the states we serve where we can't prescribe controlled substances: Alabama, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Georgia requires an in-person visit within 12 months. Visits before then can be by secure video. Call (702) 848-2256 to schedule.
How much does online bipolar treatment cost?
Self-pay is $150 per visit, for both new and follow-up visits. With insurance, you pay your plan's copay, coinsurance, or deductible when the clinician is in network with your plan.
Do you offer online therapy for bipolar disorder?
Visits for bipolar disorder here focus on psychiatric evaluation and medication management. Talk therapy is often recommended alongside medication: UK NICE guidance recommends structured psychological therapy designed for bipolar disorder, and family intervention for people who live with or are close to family. Your clinician can talk through therapy options and referrals with you.
Can I switch my bipolar treatment from another prescriber?
Yes. Bring a list of your current medicines and doses, recent lab results (such as lithium levels and kidney and thyroid tests), and any records you can get. Keep taking your medicines as prescribed until your new clinician reviews them. Stopping some medicines suddenly raises the risk of relapse; NICE advises reducing lithium gradually over at least 4 weeks, for example. Your new clinician decides whether to continue, adjust, or change your plan.
How are lithium levels and other labs checked if my visits are online?
Blood tests are done in person at a lab near you, often arranged through your primary care doctor, and your clinician reviews the results with you by video. Whether your clinician can order labs directly depends on state rules. Under UK NICE guidance, lithium levels are checked 1 week after starting and 1 week after each dose change, then weekly until stable, then every 3 months for the first year, with kidney function, thyroid function, and calcium every 6 months.
When do I need in-person or emergency care instead?
Call or text 988, or call 911, if you have thoughts of suicide with a plan or intent, thoughts of harming someone, hallucinations or delusions, or severe mania with dangerous behavior. Signs of lithium toxicity, such as worsening tremor, unsteadiness, confusion, slurred speech, vomiting, or diarrhea, also need urgent in-person care. If you need hospital care or closer monitoring than video visits allow, your clinician will help you find it.

Ready to start online bipolar care?

Video visits in 47 states and Washington, D.C. Insurance where we're in network, or $150 self-pay.

Book an evaluationOr call (702) 848-2256

Related

Related Bipolar Resources

Bipolar Test (MDQ)

Free bipolar quiz with instant results.

Learn more

Psychiatric Evaluation

What happens in an online psychiatric evaluation.

Learn more

Online Psychiatry

Evaluation and medication management by video.

Learn more

Depression Test

Free PHQ-9 screener with instant results.

Learn more

Bipolar Medication Management

Why continuity matters in bipolar care.

Learn more

Pricing

Insurance and the $150 self-pay rate.

Learn more