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Mood & Depression · 2 min · 9 questions

PHQ-9: Patient Health Questionnaire-9

Nine questions about the last two weeks. About 2 minutes. Your answers stay on your device.

Medical disclaimer: this is a validated screening questionnaire, not a diagnostic test. Only a qualified health professional can diagnose a condition. Your answers are processed in your browser and are never sent or stored.

PHQ-9: 0 of 9 answeredScore: 0 / 27 · None / Minimal

Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems?

  1. 1.Little interest or pleasure in doing things
  2. 2.Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless
  3. 3.Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much
  4. 4.Feeling tired or having little energy
  5. 5.Poor appetite or overeating
  6. 6.Feeling bad about yourself — or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down
  7. 7.Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television
  8. 8.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
  9. 9.Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way
If you checked any problems, how difficult have they made it to work, take care of things at home, or get along with others?

PHQ-9 result

Answer all 9 questions for a complete result. Current partial score shown.

0
out of 27
None / Minimal
Range 0–4

Your responses suggest few or no depressive symptoms over the past two weeks.

Recommended next steps

  • No treatment typically indicated.
  • Keep supportive routines: sleep, movement, social connection.
  • Re-screen if your mood changes or symptoms appear.

Answer the remaining questions to enable the report:

  • PHQ-9:

Screening result only, not a diagnosis. Share it with a doctor or therapist.

PHQ-9 scoring guide

ScoreInterpretationSuggested action
0–4None / MinimalNo treatment typically indicated.
5–9MildWatchful waiting; repeat PHQ-9 in 2–4 weeks.
10–14ModerateSchedule an appointment with a doctor or mental health professional.
15–19Moderately SevereSeek a clinical evaluation soon — ideally within the next week.
20–27SevereContact a healthcare provider promptly for evaluation.

Clinical background

What it measures

Each of the nine items maps to a DSM criterion for major depressive disorder: anhedonia, depressed mood, sleep, fatigue, appetite, self-worth, concentration, psychomotor change and thoughts of death or self-harm, rated over the past two weeks.

Validity

In the original primary-care validation (Kroenke et al., 2001; n = 6,000), a score of 10 or more had 88% sensitivity and 88% specificity for major depression. It is also widely used to monitor treatment response over time.

Reference: Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JBW. The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. 2001;16(9):606–613. Developed by Drs. Robert L. Spitzer, Janet B.W. Williams, Kurt Kroenke and colleagues, with an educational grant from Pfizer Inc. No permission required to reproduce, translate, display or distribute.