PHQ-9 Questions: Depression Screening
The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is a nine-question screening that asks how often you have been bothered by common symptoms of depression over the past two weeks. It takes a few minutes. Your score can help you put your symptoms into words and decide whether to talk with a doctor, but it is not a diagnosis. Only a licensed clinician can diagnose depression.
Take the PHQ-9
Answer each question based on the past two weeks, then select Calculate.
The calculator is provided by MDApp. Treat your score as a starting point for a conversation with a clinician, not a diagnosis. The guide below explains what each score range means.
What Your PHQ-9 Score Means
Each answer scores from 0 to 3, for a total between 0 and 27. Clinicians use these ranges to describe how strong depressive symptoms are:
| Score | Symptom level | A reasonable next step |
|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | Minimal | Keep an eye on how you feel. Take it again if things change. |
| 5–9 | Mild | Consider talking with your doctor, especially if symptoms have lasted more than two weeks. |
| 10–14 | Moderate | Talk with a doctor or mental health professional. |
| 15–19 | Moderately severe | Talk with a doctor or mental health professional soon. |
| 20–27 | Severe | Contact a doctor or mental health professional as soon as possible. |
A score of 10 or higher is the point at which clinicians commonly look more closely for major depression.
If you answered Question 9 with anything other than "Not at all," please talk to someone today, whatever your total score. Call or text 988, call 911 in an emergency, or tell your doctor.
The Nine PHQ-9 Questions
Over the last two weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems?
- Little interest or pleasure in doing things
- Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless
- Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much
- Feeling tired or having little energy
- Poor appetite or overeating
- Feeling bad about yourself - or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down
- Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television
- Moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed? Or the opposite - being so fidgety or restless that you have been moving around a lot more than usual
- Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way
Each question is answered with: Not at all (0), Several days (1), More than half the days (2), or Nearly every day (3).
The full questionnaire ends with one more question that is not scored: how difficult these problems have made it to do your work, take care of things at home, or get along with other people.
PHQ-2 and PHQ-9: What Is the Difference?
The PHQ-2 is a shorter screening made up of the first two PHQ-9 questions: little interest or pleasure in doing things, and feeling down, depressed, or hopeless. A PHQ-2 score of 3 or more usually means the full PHQ-9 is the next step. The PHQ-9 adds seven questions that give a fuller picture of how strong symptoms are.
What to Do After Your Screening
Share your answers and score with your doctor or a mental health professional, who can look at the full picture. If depression symptoms have lasted for weeks and antidepressants have not helped enough, you can learn about treatment options, including TMS.
NeuroJust offers free consultations at our clinics in Metairie, (504) 662-1552, and Baton Rouge, (225) 330-7382.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the PHQ-9 a diagnosis?
No. The PHQ-9 is a screening tool. It shows how often you have had symptoms of depression recently, but only a licensed clinician can diagnose depression, after looking at your full history.
What does PHQ-9 Question 9 ask?
Question 9 asks how often, over the past two weeks, you have had thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way. If your answer is anything other than "Not at all," talk to someone today: call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or call 911 in an emergency.
Who created the PHQ-9?
The PHQ-9 was developed by Drs. Robert Spitzer, Janet Williams and Kurt Kroenke, and validated in a study published in 2001. It is widely used by doctors to screen for depression and to track symptoms over time.
How often can I take the PHQ-9?
You can take it whenever you want to check in on how you feel. Clinicians often repeat it every few weeks to see whether symptoms are changing, so it can be useful to bring your scores to your appointments.
Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB. The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. 2001;16(9):606-613.