Expert Sessions at CPI: Destigmatizing Bipolar Disorder With Anyi Atabong
Anyi Atabong, DNP, PMHNP-BC, FNP-C, PMH-C, is a dual board-certified psychiatric mental-health and family nurse practitioner serving minority and underserved communities. She is co-owner of a private outpatient practice and also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, Berkley School of Nursing. With years of extensive experience to share, Atabong will present “Timing, Treatment, Trust: Shaping the Trajectory of Bipolar Disorder” at the APNA 24th Annual Clinical Psychopharmacology Institute in June.
APNA: Your session will highlight timely recognition, evidence-based treatment, and therapeutic alliance regarding bipolar disorder. From your more than 10 years in practice, what made you feel this was an especially important conversation for clinicians to have right now?
ATABONG: The landscape of mental health care is evolving rapidly. We are practicing in a time where there is more technology, more knowledge, more data, and more clinical tools available to us than ever before to help us better recognize and manage mental health conditions, including bipolar disorder.
At the same time, there is an incredibly important growing movement to destigmatize mental health. Conversations around mental health are becoming more open in communities, health care settings, and even on digital platforms. This creates an opportunity for clinicians to lean in, improve how we assess patients, and ensure we are recognizing conditions like bipolar disorder earlier.
We also now have newer therapies, better treatment strategies, and more resources that allow us to manage bipolar disorder more effectively than we could years ago. So for me, the question becomes: If we have more tools, more evidence, and more awareness than ever before, why not take full advantage of that to improve outcomes for our patients?
This session is about encouraging clinicians to use the tools we have, strengthen our diagnostic thinking, and build strong therapeutic alliances, because when we do that well, we can truly change the trajectory of our patients’ lives.
APNA: In your experience serving underserved and minority communities, what are some early signs of bipolar disorder that are most often missed or misattributed? Can timely recognition change a patient’s long-term trajectory?
ATABONG: In my experience, one of the biggest challenges with bipolar disorder is that the early warning signs are often missed, minimized, or misattributed to personality traits, stress, trauma, or even behavioral issues. There is still a strong stigma attached to mental health disorders, particularly a diagnosis like bipolar disorder. Because of that stigma, individuals and families may shy away from discussing symptoms openly or seeking help early.
Some of the early signs we often observe include agitation, irritability, impulsivity, increased energy or hyperactivity, decreased need for sleep, racing thoughts, and sudden mood shifts. Unfortunately, these symptoms can easily be mistaken for anxiety, ADHD, life stress, or simply someone having a “difficult personality.” In adolescents and young adults, it may be seen as acting out or poor behavior rather than the development of a mood disorder.
Timely recognition is key. When bipolar disorder is identified early and treated appropriately, it can truly change a patient’s long-term trajectory.
Early diagnosis allows us to stabilize mood sooner, reduce the frequency and severity of mood episodes, prevent hospitalizations, and support better functioning in school, work, and relationships. Most importantly, it helps patients build a life that is stable, productive, and fulfilling. So, the conversation we must continue pushing in our communities is that bipolar disorder is a medical condition, not a character flaw.
APNA: You emphasize reducing stigma. What is one common misconception about bipolar disorder that you still see even among health care professionals, and how do you hope this session challenges or reframes that thinking?
ATABONG: Bipolar disorder is often thought of in its most extreme form, but in reality, it is a spectrum disorder, and many patients do not initially present with obvious mania or hypomania. Most patients, especially new patients, will present with depressive symptoms, not complaints of mania or hypomania. Because of that, it can be easy to treat the depression in front of us without fully assessing whether there is an underlying bipolar spectrum disorder.
My encouragement to clinicians is to build the habit of screening for bipolar disorder any time a patient presents with depression. Ask about the symptoms that may be hiding in plain sight, such as irritability, decreased need for sleep, impulsivity, or periods of increased energy. I hope that this session encourages clinicians to widen the diagnostic lens, recognize the spectrum nature of bipolar disorder, and ultimately help patients receive the right diagnosis and treatment earlier.
APNA: What are the most common barriers to timely and effective pharmacologic treatment in bipolar disorder, and how can clinicians address them in everyday practice?
ATABONG: One of the biggest barriers to timely and effective pharmacologic treatment is delayed recognition of subtle or atypical presentations. This not only delays appropriate care but can actually worsen outcomes, triggering mania, rapid cycling, or mixed features. Because of this, we must be intentional about thorough assessment every single time, especially with new patients presenting with depression. Ask the right questions: history of hypomania, decreased need for sleep, irritability, impulsivity, periods of increased energy, and family history. If we don’t look for bipolar, we may miss it.
We also see challenges with medication consistency or fear of the drugs, often due to side effects, stigma, or lack of insight. If patients don’t feel understood or educated about their diagnosis, they’re less likely to stay on treatment. This is where our therapeutic alliance is everything! Let us normalize the condition, set expectations, and involve patients in shared decision-making. Bipolar disorder requires close monitoring, especially early in treatment. Without continuity, we miss opportunities to adjust medications and optimize outcomes.
APNA: Following your presentation, what do you most want clinicians to understand about diagnosing and managing bipolar disorder?
ATABONG: Diagnosing and managing bipolar disorder requires curiosity, patience, and a willingness to look beyond what is immediately presented. Many patients will come into the clinic with symptoms of depression, anxiety, or irritability, but that does not always tell the full story. It requires asking thoughtful questions and exploring past mood patterns, sleep changes, impulsivity, and periods of increased energy that patients may not recognize as clinically significant. I also want clinicians to appreciate that getting the diagnosis right matters tremendously.
Ultimately, my message is simple: slow down, ask deeper questions, and remember that behind many cases of depression there may be a bipolar story waiting to be uncovered.
>>> Register now for the APNA 24th Annual Clinical Psychopharmacology Institute and explore advances and new psychopharmacologic discoveries in clinical psychopharmacology – and earn up to 30.25 ANCC‑accredited pharmacology contact hours!
Published March 2026
