Depression screening test
Eight questions, about two minutes. Scored in your browser - nothing is saved, sent, or attached to your name.
Question 1 of 8
Your score
This screen is not a diagnosis. It tells you whether a clinical conversation is worth having.
Your answers were never transmitted. There is nothing to delete.
What this test measures
These eight questions are the PHQ-8 - the PHQ-9 depression screen without its final item. Each question maps to one of the DSM-5 criteria for a major depressive episode. The PHQ-8 is validated in its own right and is the version used for large-scale screening where no clinician is present to respond in the moment, which is exactly the situation on a web page.
Each answer scores 0 to 3, so totals run from 0 to 24. A score of 10 or higher is the conventional threshold for treatment.
| Score | What it indicates |
|---|---|
| 0 - 4 | Minimal depression |
| 5 - 9 | Mild depression |
| 10 - 14 | Moderate depression - treatment usually indicated |
| 15 - 19 | Moderately severe depression |
| 20 - 24 | Severe depression - evaluation recommended promptly |
When antidepressants have not worked
Roughly a third of people with depression do not respond adequately to two or more antidepressant trials. That is called treatment-resistant depression, and it is a specific clinical situation rather than a personal failure.
It changes what comes next. Options include switching drug class, augmentation strategies, and esketamine, which works through a different mechanism than oral antidepressants. If you have been through several medications without relief, say so at your first visit - it shortens the path considerably.
Common questions
- Is this test a diagnosis?
- No. It is a screen. A diagnosis requires a clinical interview, including ruling out bipolar disorder, thyroid disease, and other causes that can look like depression.
- Are my answers saved or sent anywhere?
- No. Scoring runs inside your browser. Nothing is transmitted, stored, or connected to your identity. Closing the tab erases it.
- I scored high. What happens at an evaluation?
- A conversation, not a test. We go through your history, what you have tried, what else is going on medically, and what you want to be different. You leave with a plan.
- Why does this screen not ask about self-harm?
- The PHQ-8 leaves out the PHQ-9 question about thoughts of death or self-harm, because a web page cannot respond to that answer. It is asked at your evaluation, where someone can actually help. If you are having those thoughts now, call or text 988.
- Do you see patients outside Nevada?
- We see patients in person in Henderson and Las Vegas, and by telehealth in Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Washington DC and New Mexico, with additional states opening soon.