First, let me say welcome to PC, and I'm glad you're feeling better.

Yes, if your sense is that you are feeling calm and what you would call "okay", then it sounds like the meds are working well for you. That's great that they were able to hit it on the first med try. Sometimes it can take a long time to begin to feel stable.

As for the CBT, yes, it can be very helpful. Now that you're feeling more in control of your emotions, you can look at how they have affected you in the past and use the CBT to work on certain false or harmful beliefs or thoughts you had about yourself or your situation.

Another important piece of the therapy in bipolar disorder is becoming aware of what bipolar "looks like" for you. We all have different warning signs or triggers for mood episodes. What does it look like when you start to get depressed or manic? What concrete things can you put on paper to help you monitor yourself? When depressed, do you isolate, sleep more, try to sleep but can't, changes in eating habits, etc...when manic, do you not want to sleep at all, spend more, drive fast, feel more like drinking or having sex, do you get hyperreligious or start new business plans...etc, etc. ? All these details can help you catch an episode before you get whisked away into a florid, dangerous mania or depression. It may be helpful for you to start mood charting if you don't already. There are many pre-made mood charts available online. Tailor it to fit your situation. Your therapist can also help you identify your support system. Who can you call when you feel yourself getting sick? Do they know how to help you?

Managing bipolar disorder is much like managing any chronic illness. We need to watch what we eat, how much we sleep, daily stressors, changes in the seasons, travel...all of these things, and others, can cause instability, much like flare-ups in lupus or fibromyalgia or sugar fluctuations in diabetes. Your therapist can help you make the lifestyle changes you might need to stay well.

There are other therapies out there, depending on what other issues you may be dealing with. DBT can help with distress and frustration tolerance, EMDR can help with trauma, regular "psychodynamic" therapy can help with all of those insidious "mother issues" we tend to wind up with, etc, etc. But it sounds like you're on a good path with the CBT, so I would give this a try first. CBT can touch on all of these issues to some degree.

I hope you continue to do well and find PC to be a good support for you.