Bipolar Disorder Course — The Two Faces of Being

Bipolarity is not just mood swings.

The Bipolar Disorder Course — The Two Faces of Being, by Academia Enlevo, was designed for those who want to understand bipolar disorder in depth, responsibly and with a multidisciplinary view.

Bipolar disorder should not be reduced to mood changes, ordinary instability or a difficult temperament. It is a complex mental health condition, marked by episodes of significant change in mood, energy, sleep, activity, thinking, behavior and functional capacity.

At some moments the person may experience depressive episodes (deep sadness, loss of interest, low energy, guilt, hopelessness and, in severe cases, thoughts of death); at others, mania or hypomania (increased energy, reduced need for sleep, impulsivity, racing thoughts, irritability, grandiosity and risky behavior).

Academia Enlevo presents this program as a non-degree professional certification course, with 360 class hours and an intensive program of 4 months. The course does not replace an undergraduate degree, medical or psychological assessment, diagnosis, prescription, the issuing of clinical reports, or practice beyond the student’s prior training.

What is bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition characterized by episodic changes in mood, energy and activity, which may manifest as episodes of mania, hypomania and depression.

In mania, there may be excessive energy, reduced need for sleep, racing thoughts, impulsivity, grandiosity, irritability and risky behavior — in severe cases, psychotic symptoms. In hypomania, the symptoms are less intense but still cause conflicts and rash decisions. In depressive episodes, intense sadness, loss of pleasure, fatigue, guilt, hopelessness and, in severe cases, thoughts of death.

One of the biggest oversimplifications is to say that anyone who changes their mind or gets irritated “is bipolar”. This is incorrect and stigmatizing. Everyone has mood fluctuations; bipolar disorder involves clinical episodes with a specific duration, intensity, functional impairment and pattern.

Bipolar disorder requires careful assessment because it can be confused with unipolar depression, anxiety, ADHD, personality disorders, substance use and medical conditions. Studying bipolarity means abandoning the superficial use of the word and understanding the disorder with rigor, ethics and humanity.

A subject of great responsibility.

Bipolar disorder appears in clinics, hospitals, schools, companies, families, public services and communities. Professionals may see people with recurrent depression without noticing a history of hypomania or mania; families may not know how to act in the face of crises, intense irritability, isolation or abandonment of treatment.

Bipolar disorder may also be associated with suicide risk, family conflicts, professional difficulties, impulsive behavior, hospitalizations, substance abuse and damage to self-esteem.

Studying the subject helps build a better-prepared stance: less judgment, more listening; less labeling, more understanding; less improvisation, more responsible referral.

Four entry points.

Each person comes to the study of bipolar disorder through a different door — career change, a calling for listening, professional development or the pursuit of excellence. Bipolarity cannot be treated superficially.

Career change
For those who want to move closer to mental health responsibly, perceiving that listening to human suffering requires much more than good will.

A calling for listening
For those who want to learn to distinguish support from collusion, care from control, and listening from improvised diagnosis.

Health and humanities professionals
Psychologists, psychoanalysts, therapists, physicians, psychiatrists, educators and social workers who encounter bipolarity in different contexts.

Seekers of excellence
For those who reject trivialization — bipolarity is neither a joke nor a label — seeking to explain, organize, humanize and recognize limits.

Bipolar disorder and school.

An Academia Enlevo awareness campaign on bipolar disorder in the school environment.

Understanding mood fluctuations seriously, without labels or stigma, is part of what this course proposes.

Bipolar — School (Academia Enlevo)

What you will expand.

The central objective is to offer a broad and applied understanding of bipolar disorder, its types, therapeutic possibilities and clinical, family, social and ethical challenges. By the end, the student is expected to have expanded their ability to:

• Understand bipolar disorder as a complex mental health condition.
• Distinguish ordinary mood fluctuation from clinical episodes of mania, hypomania and depression.
• Recognize signs of manic, hypomanic, depressive and mixed episodes.
• Understand the differences between bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder and cyclothymia.
• Study the differential diagnosis between bipolarity, unipolar depression, ADHD, anxiety, personality disorders and substance use.
• Understand the role of medical, psychiatric, psychological and multidisciplinary assessment.
• Study pharmacological treatments from an educational perspective, without prescribing or giving medication guidance.
• Understand the role of psychotherapy, psychoeducation, the family and treatment adherence.
• Reflect on suicide risk, impulsivity and the need for referral in risk situations.
• Study the contributions of psychoanalysis to listening to bipolarity, melancholia, excitement and the oscillations of the ego.
• Recognize ethical limits: studying bipolar disorder does not authorize diagnosis, clinical reports, prescription or practice beyond one’s prior training.

Competencies throughout the program.

Multidisciplinary understanding
Bipolarity from the perspectives of psychiatry, psychology, psychoanalysis, neuroscience, family, the care network and social inclusion.

Reading mood episodes
Mania, hypomania, bipolar depression, mixed episodes, cycling and warning signs that require professional care.

Differential diagnosis
Why bipolarity can be confused with depression, ADHD, anxiety, personality disorders and substance use.

Pharmacological treatments
Mood stabilizers, antipsychotics and antidepressants as subjects of study — prescription and management are acts reserved for qualified professionals.

Psychotherapy and psychoeducation
Treatment adherence, routine, sleep, family, relapse prevention and continuing care.

Family and support network
Guidance, communication, crisis management and healthy boundaries in shared care.

Psychoanalytic approach
Mood, melancholia, excitement, narcissism, impulsivity, guilt, bond, repetition and subjective suffering.

Ethics and professional limits
Studying bipolarity does not authorize diagnosis, technical documents, prescription or care beyond one’s prior training.

How the platform works.

The course takes place in Academia Enlevo’s virtual learning environment, with recorded video lessons, support materials, readings, PDFs, books, podcasts, assignments, assessments and performance tracking.

The platform organizes the study journey and lets you progress within the expected timeframe. Being 100% online, the course can be taken from anywhere with internet access.

The intensive program was structured for completion in 4 months. The study pace must respect the platform’s academic rules and the student’s individual organization.

Access to the course is released after the enrollment is confirmed by the banking institution. Boletos (Brazilian bank payment slips) and other payment methods may have their own clearing times.

360 hours, certificate and transparency.

The Bipolar Disorder Course has 360 class hours, with an intensive program of 4 months. Upon completing the modules and meeting the approval criteria, the student receives a certificate of completion issued by Academia Enlevo.

This is a non-degree professional certification and development course. It is not an undergraduate degree, it is not a lato sensu postgraduate program accredited by the MEC (Ministério da Educação, Brazil’s Ministry of Education), and it does not replace higher education, professional registration, supervision or the legal requirements of regulated professions.

This course does not make the student a psychologist, physician, psychiatrist, therapist or psychoanalyst, and does not, by itself, authorize the diagnosis of bipolar disorder, the issuing of clinical reports, the administration of psychological tests, the prescription of medication or autonomous clinical practice.

In situations of severe mania, psychosis, suicide risk, risk to others, severe impulsivity or acute suffering, referral to qualified professionals and services is indispensable. Academia Enlevo does not promise a cure, full mastery of complex cases, employment, patients or accreditation.

14 modules: The Two Faces of Being.

Curriculum rebuilt for coherence with the “The Two Faces of Being” proposal, focused on bipolar disorder, mental health, psychoanalysis, treatment, family, risk and ethics. It may be updated by the coordination team.

1 new module per week — gradual, guided release.

What the course allows — and what it does not promise.

This course allows you to study bipolar disorder, mania, hypomania, bipolar depression, mixed episodes, differential diagnosis, pharmacological treatments, psychotherapy, psychoeducation, psychoanalysis, family, suicide risk, support networks, quality of life and ethics.

It can contribute to the professional development of psychologists, psychoanalysts, therapists, physicians, educators, social workers, mental health professionals and students.

The course does not promise a cure for bipolar disorder, does not qualify you to diagnose, does not authorize the prescription of medication, does not permit the issuing of clinical reports, does not replace medical, psychological or psychiatric care, does not replace supervision and does not guarantee employment, patients or accreditation.

The professional use of this knowledge must respect the student’s prior training, current legislation, the ethical limits of practice and the need to refer to qualified professionals when necessary.

Questions about the course on bipolar disorder.