The diagnostic tool Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale (BSDS) contains nineteen sentences and a rating scale. If a person is having symptoms of mood disorders, a mental health professional may use the Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale to determine if the person has bipolar disorder.
The Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale was designed by Ronald Pies, M.D. and refined by S. Nassir Ghaemi, M.D., M.P.H. All variations and levels of severity of bipolar disorder can be detected with the Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale.
Pies was motivated to design the Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale after he had experience with many people who have treatment-resistant depression that was later determined to be undiagnosed bipolar spectrum disorder. Bipolar spectrum disorder is not in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) which is used to diagnose mental illnesses.
Some mental health professionals use the unofficial diagnosis of bipolar spectrum disorder to refer to people who have bipolar symptoms, but their symptoms are not severe enough for an official bipolar disorder diagnosis. Mild bipolar disorder is sometimes called soft bipolar disorder or soft bipolar spectrum disorder.
The Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale has two sections. The first section contains nineteen sentences that describe the primary symptoms of bipolar disorder. The patient checks the sentences that describe their behavior or feelings.
The second section is a rating of how the collection of sentences of section one fits their personal experiences. The score of the first section is determined by awarding one point per sentence that the patient checked as matching their personal experiences.
The score of the second section is based on how the collection of sentences of section one is rated as a whole by the patient. If the patient rated the story as fitting them very well or almost perfectly, six points are added to the person’s score. Four points are added if the patient rated the collection of sentences as fitting their experiences fairly well.
Two points are added if the patient said the story fits to some degree but not in most respects. If the person says the story does not describe them at all, no points are added to their score.
Bipolar disorder is considered highly likely if the patient’s score is nineteen or higher. If the score is eleven to eighteen, there is a moderate probability of bipolar disorder. There is a low probability if the score is six to ten. Bipolar disorder is considered very unlikely if the score is under five or less.
