The family members of a person with serious mental illness experience social, economic, emotional and environmental problems as a result of their caregiving responsibilies. The mental status arising from these problems is considered as the burden of the family. To be aware of what can be called as burden to the family members or the caregivers and the severity of the burden provides important clues in the treatment.

The aim of this study is to investigate the burden of the caregivers of bipolar disorder patients and the relationship of this caregiving burden with sociodemographic and psychopathological variables.

Forty chronic Bipolar patient's caregivers were participated in this study. The patients symptoms were assessed with Clinical Global Impression Scale. The aim of the study was explained in a plain language before they were asked to complete the Zarit Burden Interview.

Educational status of the caregivers (p = 0.037), the severity of the illness (p = 0.06), caregiver relationship to patient (p = 0.01), the precence of a psychiatric disorder of another individual from the family (p = 0.01) were found as important variables that increase the burden of the caregiver.

To uncover the the factors that affect the burden of the caregivers is important for predicting relapses. Bipolar disorder significantly affects not only the patients but also their family (or caregivers). At this stage the responsibility of the clinician is not only the prescription but also to educate the patients and their families as well with particular emphasis on identifying and modifying burdensome symptoms.