I also think that a day program can give better "results" than a short therapy session. Even if the session is an hour that is still pretty limited.

I was in an "intensive outpatient program" which is just a little less than a day program. Where a day program is maybe 6 hours a day my IOP was 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. Even that made a huge difference. That may also be a good choice for someone who wants to remain working part time during the treatment period.

With my therapist now I always feel like I would like more time when the sessions end. In the IOP, even though there were 5-10 people in the group, so technically less time per person for speaking, I always felt very satisfied at the end. Two excellent therapists ran the group, part of the session was for therapy and part was for education, but they were very flexible about that depending on how the course of the day went. The "group dynamic" helped a real lot for me.

I am glad that you realize that it takes time to establish a "relationship" and trust with a therapist. Sometimes a therapist may not "click" with a patient and a change is needed. It is important to realize that so that someone doesn't try therapy, say "that did no good" and give up. I believe the same can be said of day programs or IOP. The IOP that i was in was very helpful. When my insurance stopped paying for it, my therapist was able to get me approved in a different IOP program. This one was much more structured... 45 minutes for each "segment" and then it went to the next part, even if there was a "flow" going during that session and not everyone had a chance to speak. In this second program also the day and IOP programs were combined. I simply left after my 3 hours but I felt like I was not getting full benefit, for example maybe an educational segment scheduled in the afternoon for after I left.

This second group was very effective for some of the people there, so I'm not saying it was bad, but, like therapists it may also require somewhat of a personality match.

>> Since I've never dealt with serious depression, I truly can't understand what she's feeling...all I can do is be a sounding board for her and provide reassurance that she CAN and WILL get better.

Support and friendship is very much needed by people suffering from depression. So being there for her, taking an interest in her illness and her treatment, and encouraging her to find treatment that will help her really is a huge positive thing you are doing for her. Not everyone suffering bipolar or depression has someone like that in their lives. Learning about the disease, for example seeking out this website and posting here, is also a great thing to do. It shows her that you care enough to take an interest and also helps you be more confident in how to help.

I wrote a paper on depression that may help with some more information. It is available at http://www.idexter.com