PolarUs Update #8: Our Video at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting!

on May 19, 2022
PolarUs Update #8: Our Video at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting!

We’re starting recruitment for our PolarUs app evaluation study!

Participants in the study will test our new app for living well with bipolar disorder, and let us know how it works for them. If you’re interested in joining the study, or just want to learn more, visit www.polarus.app!

Sign Up at PolarUs.app!

“What [the Polarus app] really does is measures quality of life for people [with bipolar disorder], and gives them tools for self-management to really empower them to improve those quality of life areas.” -Amir, peer researcher.


We have exciting news! This year, CREST.BD was invited by the American Psychiatric Association to create a video showcasing our work. We’re thrilled to be able to share this video with you now:

In this profile of CREST.BD, a group of our core members talk about the work we do. They describe how everything CREST.BD does is hand-in-hand with people with lived experience of bipolar disorder. Founder Dr. Erin Michalak shares how we’ve spent over a decade developing the science on self-management for bipolar disorder. And how now, all of this information will be located in one central hub: the PolarUs app.

“We have good science in hand about self-management strategies for bipolar disorder. We have an evidence-informed system to measure people’s quality of life. And we now have all of that information together in one home: the PolarUs app.” -Dr. Erin Michalak

A flatscreen TV is hung on a pillar in what looks like a hotel lobby. On the screen, Erin is in the middle of talking. She is Caucasian with long, wavy brown hair and is wearing a shiny brown, orange and green desk. There are signs to the left and right of the TV that say 'APA TV.'

The video is currently being broadcast at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

“I think that it’s really most important for us to be asking people with bipolar disorder what they need, and that’s something CREST.BD has always done really well.” -Dr. Emma Morton

A tweet from Dr. Emma Morton (emm_morton on Twitter) that says 'Look Ma, I'm on (APA) TV!' Attached is a picture of Emma standing in front of a flat-screen TV playing a video of her. She is Caucasian with shoulder-length, wavy red hair and is wearing glasses. On the TV, she is wearing a black shirt and appears to be explaining something. The 'real' Emma is smiling and wearing a tan shirt and a lanyard. It says the Tweet was posted May 21, 2022, and it has 20 likes.

“We want to chronicle what it’s like to live with bipolar disorder, and all the benefits and good outcomes that come with bipolar disorder.” -Dr. Steven Barnes

“As much as symptom reduction is important, having a really robust quality of life is even more important.” -Victoria Maxwell, mental health educator & speaker

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