Diagnosing Mania: Improving Self-Assessment Tools through the Lens of Formal Psychological Assessment

Manic episodes can display a wide range of symptoms with significantly varying severities. Broadened comprehension of the symptoms is the core feature of any effective treatment, including bipolar disorder. The aim of this study is to review the key self-rating mania assessment scales in the literature under the light of the theoretical descriptions to enhance understanding of its clinical picture and propose a modified diagnostic tool based on the methodology Formal Psychological Assessment (FPA). FPA can overcome the limitations of current self-report tools related to assessment of mania, by providing qualitative information about the obtained scores and reporting different experiences of the disorder across patients according to response patterns, thereby contributing to improved diagnostic measures and treatment strategies. Lastly, the results of the review are presented as a matrix covering the diagnostic criteria and the FPA approach.