Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a mood disorder associated with specific periods of the calendar year. SAD is more commonly found in geographic locations with long winter seasons with shorter daylight hours, less sunlight, and longer nights. This lack of sunlight has been directly connected to mood changes in a variety of populations and is most common at latitudes that experience less light during the winter seasons. In addition, some mood changes have been associated with the summer months in specific geographic areas. This paper will explore the diagnosis and assessment of Seasonal Affective Disorder, including the differentiation of the physical and emotional causes for the mood changes that occur. The paper will also explore the common treatment methods, including behavioral, pharmacological, and biopsychological, attempting to identify the preferred methods of treatment and data regarding the efficacy of the methods (. According to the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) DSM-IV, SAD is not a separate mood disorder but the term is "specifier," for seasonal patterns of major depressive episodes that can occur in individuals with major depressive and bipolar disorders. According to the APA (1994) a diagnosis of SAD must meet the following criteria:

" Regular temporal relationship between the onset of major depressive episodes and a particular time of the year (unrelated to obvious season-related psychosocial stressors)

Full remissions (or a change from depression to mania or hypomania) also occur at a characteristic time of the year

Two major depressive episodes meeting criteria A and B. In last two years and no nonseasonal episodes in the same period

Seasonal major depressive episodes substantially outnumber the nonseasonal episodes over the individual's lifetime...

Light therapy is conducted with a 10,000 lux light box that can simulate daytime sunlight. The light is believed to trigger the release of serotonin, the substance that regulates mood. Patients have therapy sessions starting at 10-15 minutes per day, and this slowly increases to 30-40 minutes. Studies have shown light therapy to be effective in elevating mood in patients during winter months, and the side effects are minimal.
The use of antidepressant medication in cases of SAD is typically centered on common SSRI medications used for general depressive disorders. There is some concern, however, that the relationship between SAD and bipolar disorders may contraindicate the use of light therapy or SSRI medications, as both treatments can trigger manic episodes in patients with bipolar disorder. Clinicians who are treating individuals with evidence of bipolarity should be particularly cautious about the use of therapies that can trigger mania. These patients typically require a combined therapy that includes a mood-stabilizing agent (Saeed & Bruce, 1998).

Many psychologists and researchers have noted that psychosocial and behavioral issues may also be linked to SAD, and they promote the use of therapeutic interventions, including cognitive behavioral therapy. These researchers argue that seasonal mood changes may also be attributed to social and familial issues connected to a…