Our evaluations are designed to identify patterns of mood episodes and understand how symptoms present over time. One psychologist owns the process from start to finish, taking a detailed, individualized approach to ensure accurate diagnosis and clarity. You can start without a referral from another provider.
Our evaluations provide an in-depth understanding of mood patterns and emotional functioning, focusing on both depressive episodes and periods of elevated mood such as hypomania or mania. We assess sleep changes, energy shifts, impulsivity, racing thoughts, grandiosity, and family history, with a cognitive and executive function baseline built into the picture. There is no rigid timeline or fixed session count. We pace the assessment around what each person needs, with no handoffs to other providers along the way.
Children showing intense mood swings, irritability, changes in sleep, or periods of unusually high energy or impulsivity that feel out of proportion.
Teens experiencing cycles of depression and elevated mood, risk-taking behaviors, sleepless stretches, or difficulty holding steady at school.
Adults facing ongoing mood instability, energy fluctuations, impulsive decisions, or years of patterns in relationships and work life that finally need answers.
Your evaluation begins with a one-hour clinical interview where your psychologist gathers a thorough history of mood patterns, energy levels, and behavioral changes from childhood through your current daily life. This conversation is critical for identifying the cycling patterns that distinguish bipolar disorder from other mood conditions and for selecting the right assessments.
Your psychologist selects a personalized battery of mood and psychological assessments designed to capture the full range of your experiences. Testing involves 2 to 6 hours of in-person evaluation over one to two days. You will also be sent home with self-report questionnaires, and someone close to you can complete their own to provide perspective on mood and behavioral patterns over time. If your psychologist identifies signs of other conditions (such as ADHD, anxiety, or depression), those areas are screened for as well.
All testing data, clinical observations, and questionnaire results are compiled into a detailed diagnostic report. Accurate differential diagnosis is especially important with bipolar disorder, so your psychologist carefully evaluates mood patterns, episode history, and symptom presentation. Any co-occurring conditions are fully documented.
Approximately two to three weeks after testing, you return for a feedback session. Your psychologist walks through the diagnosis and provides individualized recommendations: treatment planning, evidence-based therapy options, medication considerations, lifestyle management strategies, and next steps tailored to your situation.
Everyone has emotional fluctuations, but bipolar disorder involves distinct episodes, hypomanic, manic, or depressive, that differ significantly in intensity, duration, and functional impact from typical mood variation. During the evaluation, the psychologist uses structured interview questions and standardized instruments to distinguish clinically significant mood episodes from normal emotional range. The cognitive and executive function baseline also helps identify whether mood patterns are affecting everyday functioning in measurable ways.
Yes. Bipolar disorder can emerge at any age, and late-onset cases can be particularly difficult to identify because they sometimes present differently than earlier-onset presentations. The evaluation process is individualized regardless of age, and the psychologist takes developmental context into account when reviewing mood history and cognitive findings.
It helps to come with a rough timeline of mood episodes, including any periods of elevated energy, decreased sleep, depression, or impulsive decisions, as well as any prior mental health history, treatment records, or evaluation reports you have. The psychologist will ask detailed questions during the clinical interview, so having a sense of your own history helps the process go more smoothly and produces more accurate results.
Yes. The comprehensive written report produced by Core Spring Diagnostics documents findings, any diagnoses, and the functional impacts of the identified conditions. This documentation can be used to support workplace accommodation requests, particularly around scheduling flexibility, workload management, and other adjustments relevant to managing mood disorder symptoms.
A general mental health intake is a brief, symptom-focused conversation designed to place someone in therapy or medication management. A Core Spring Diagnostics evaluation is a multi-session, gold-standard neuropsychological process that goes far deeper, covering cognitive functioning, executive skills, mood history, personality, and comorbidity. The result is a detailed clinical report with individualized recommendations, not just a referral.
Call Core Spring Diagnostics at (414) 387-2100 or submit a consultation request through the website. The intake team will help you determine whether a focused bipolar assessment or a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation is the right starting point.
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