Cariprazine is used to treat schizophrenia (a mental illness that causes disturbed or unusual thinking, loss of interest in life, and strong or inappropriate emotions). Cariprazine is also used to treat episodes of depression in people with bipolar I disorder (manic depressive disorder; a disease that causes episodes of mania, episodes of depression and other abnormal moods). It is also used as a short term treatment for episodes of mania or mixed episodes (symptoms of mania and depression that happen together) in people with bipolar I disorder. Cariprazine is in a class of medications called atypical antipsychotics. It works by changing the activity of certain natural substances in the brain.