Evidence for the Efficacy of Bright Light Therapy for Bipolar Depression

What is it about?

A recent paper has used midday light therapy for good antidepressant effects in bipolar depression (Am. J. Psychiatry (appiajp201716101200). The timing was based on three patients in a prior pilot study who had developed mixed states with morning light. However, historical overview of switch after morning light therapy indicates a lower switch rate with light therapy than placebo in bipolar depression. Given the vast positive experience of many clinicians all over the world with morning light therapy in BD, we are concerned that this treatment will be limited, causing problems in further clinical applications of light in these hard-to-treat patients. We wish to emphasize that the proven efficacy and safety of early morning bright LT for BD, as many of us have used it in everyday clinical practice, should be recognized as a valid treatment option.

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