title: Diagnosing bipolar II disorder: some personal perspectives.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To overview candidate clinical features that support a bipolar II diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Personal clinical and research-based observations are presented.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It is argued that clinical assessment should consider the nature of the depressive episodes as well as of the highs, search for a 'trend break' onset and a family history, and weight the absence of psychotic features in distinguishing the condition from a bipolar I condition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This review argues for bipolar II disorder as differing categorically from bipolar I disorder, and details cross-sectional and longitudinal clinical features found useful in facilitating its diagnosis.
authors: Scientia Professor of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Randwick NSW, and; Professorial Fellow, Black Dog Institute, Randwick NSW, Australia g.parker@unsw.edu.au.
authors: Gordon
authors: G
authors: Parker
mesh_terms: D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans
keywords: bipolar II disorder; bipolar disorders; diagnosis