The mission of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) is to foster international collaboration in education, research, and clinical care to improve the lives of those with bipolar disorder and related conditions. The intent of this collaboration is to advance the treatment of bipolar disorders and to improve outcomes and the quality of life for those living with bipolar disorder and their caregivers. Bipolar disorder is a severe and debilitating mental illness, which has in the past decade started to receive the necessary attention from society, researchers, practitioners, government, and private funding agencies. About ISBD ISBD was created in response to further need for: Awareness Education Research The Society is growing in membership with an elected board representing 8 countries and 500 members representing nearly 50 countries. ISBD is a major source for emerging research and clinical data on bipolar disorders and is the only bipolar-focused, research-oriented Society working to bring this data to: Patients Families Mental health professionals working on the front lines of bipolar care The Society currently offers several educational programs, including the Samuel Gershon Awards for Junior Investigators for best original research manuscripts, online training opportunities for young clinicians, and a mentorship program. In addition to its work to support bipolar education among trainees, fellows and young investigators, the ISBD is also moving the field forward through the development of task forces in the areas of child and adolescent bipolar disorder, transcultural needs, staging, women’s health and bipolar disorder in older adults. Bipolar Disorders – An International Journal of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, which is the official journal of the Society, is published 8 times a year and is dedicated to publishing the results of all research relevant to the basic mechanisms, clinical aspects, or treatment of bipolar disorders.