title: A case for reprising and redefining melancholia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify limitations to severity-based classifications of depression, and to argue for positioning melancholia as a distinct melancholic subtype.
  
  
  METHODS
  An overview of relevant literature was conducted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  First, dimensionalizing depressive disorders effectively aggregates multiple heterogeneous depressive types and syndromes, and thus limits, if not prevents, identification of differential causes and treatments. Second, the melancholic depressive subtype can be defined with some relative precision, and that as it shows quite distinct differential treatment responsiveness, identification should be a clinical priority.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Melancholia can be positioned and classified as a distinct depressive subtype.
authors.affiliation: University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. g.parker@blackdog.org.au
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Parker
mesh_terms: D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000145:classification* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D006801:Humans; D011613:Psychotherapy; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic