{{ summaryTitle }}
{{ summaryValue }}
{{ summaryLine }}
{{ badge.label }}

Before you begin

Rate how often each symptom has bothered you during the last two weeks. The final functional-impact item is recorded separately and is not added to the 0–27 total.

Privacy: {{ assessmentDefinition.privacy.disclosure }} {{ assessmentDefinition.privacy.reset }}
This changes only the completed answer ledger. It never changes scoring, safety, or interpretation.
{{ progressPercent }}%
{{ progressLabel }}
{{ currentQuestion.text }}

{{ currentQuestion.id === 10 ? 'Choose the functional-impact response that fits best.' : 'Think about the last two weeks and choose the response that fits best.' }}

Safety and support
  • {{ action.label }}

This result was restored from its editable response URL.

What this means

{{ interpretationArtifact ? interpretationArtifact.lead : 'No interpretation is available for this result.' }}

What to do next

{{ assessmentActionPresentation.primary }}

  • {{ point }}

{{ interpretationArtifact ? interpretationArtifact.uncertainty : 'This result is informational and should be interpreted within the assessment scope.' }}

Understand your scoreSee the canonical score in its declared range

{{ scorePositionArtifact.summary }}

Loading score-position chart…

{{ assessmentChartStatus }}
Review your answersCheck the responses behind this result
ItemPromptAnswerScore contributionCopy
{{ row.label }}{{ row.prompt }}{{ row.answer }}{{ row.score_text }}

No answer rows are available for this result.

Save or shareOptional handoffs for this completed result
Share result

The link contains your responses in its URL. It is portable, not encrypted; share it only with someone you trust.

This link includes: {{ assessmentSharedFieldLabels.join(', ') }}.

Include this completed result in a copied link?

{{ assessmentDefinition.privacy.disclosure }}

{{ shareResultStatus }}
Score chart
Answer review
Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D-20) Check past-week depressive symptom frequency with the 20-item CES-D and review reverse scoring, the 16-point line, and optional answer review.
Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) Assessment Screen past-week depression-related responses in older adults with GDS-15, strict follow-up thresholds, and separate safety cues.
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15) Assessment Rate how much 15 physical symptoms bothered you over four weeks, then review the 0–30 PHQ-15 total and its symptom-burden band.
Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) Screener Screen past-30-day psychological distress with the six-item K6 total, clear 5 and 13 cutoffs, and non-diagnostic follow-up guidance.
Customize
Advanced
:

Depression can change interest, mood, sleep, energy, appetite, concentration, movement, self-worth, and thoughts about death or self-harm. Counting only sadness misses much of that picture. A brief symptom measure makes the pattern visible over a fixed period and gives a clinician or respondent concrete details to discuss.

The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) asks how often nine depressive symptoms occurred during the last two weeks. Each answer runs from Not at all to Nearly every day. The nine ratings form a 0 to 27 symptom-severity total, while a separate question records how difficult the problems have made work, home responsibilities, or relationships.

Severity total
The sum of Items 1 to 9, grouped into conventional minimal, mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe ranges.
Functional impact
A separate rating of daily difficulty. It adds context but contributes no points to the total.
Item 9
The question about being better off dead or self-harm. Any answer above Not at all requires direct follow-up regardless of the total.

A PHQ-9 result supports screening and symptom tracking; it does not diagnose a depressive disorder by itself. Grief, trauma, bipolar disorder, sleep loss, medical illness, medication effects, substance use, pregnancy or postpartum changes, and acute stress can produce overlapping symptoms. Duration, history, function, safety, and a clinical interview determine what the score means for a person.

Item 9 must never be hidden inside the aggregate. A low or minimal total does not cancel a positive response. If thoughts feel actionable, safety is uncertain, or someone may be in immediate danger, contact local emergency services or crisis support now.

How to Use This Tool:

Answer for the last two weeks, then read the symptom total beside Item 9 and the separate functional-impact response.

  1. Begin the assessment and rate each of the nine symptoms from Not at all to Nearly every day.
  2. Answer the final functional-impact question about work, home responsibilities, and relationships. The result requires all ten responses.
  3. Check the PHQ-9 total score and severity band, then read the Functional impact rating separately.
  4. Look at the Item 9 status before using the total for any follow-up decision. Any response above Not at all takes priority.
  5. Use the answer review to confirm the symptom frequencies. Share a copied result link only when the recipient should receive the complete response pattern.

Interpreting Results:

The severity label summarizes symptom frequency, not diagnosis or treatment need. A total of 10 or more is a common threshold for fuller clinical review, but important symptoms, impairment, or risk may need attention below 10 as well.

Functional impact can strengthen concern even though it is not added to the total. Item 9 has separate precedence: any non-zero response needs prompt person-to-person follow-up by a qualified professional, including when the total remains in the minimal range.

Technical Details:

PHQ-9 symptom scoring uses literal frequency codes. Not at all contributes 0 points, Several days 1, More than half the days 2, and Nearly every day 3. There are no reverse-scored items, and the function question remains outside the nine-item sum.

Formula Core

The total adds the nine symptom ratings without weighting or prorating.

SPHQ-9 = ∑i=19 xi , xi ∈ {0,1,2,3}

The valid total is 0 to 27 points. The functional-impact response is separately coded from 0 to 3 and retains its label; adding it would produce an invalid PHQ-9 total. Scores are whole numbers, so no rounding is required.

Rule Core

Severity bands use inclusive upper bounds. The 10-point review cue begins exactly at 10.

TotalSeverity bandBoundary
0 to 4MinimalTotal is less than 5
5 to 9MildAt least 5 and less than 10
10 to 14ModerateAt least 10 and less than 15
15 to 19Moderately severeAt least 15 and less than 20
20 to 27SevereAt least 20

The safety rule is independent of these bands. Item 9 values 1, 2, or 3 activate direct follow-up, even when the remaining eight symptom items are all zero. This precedence prevents a low aggregate from suppressing a consequential individual response.

CodeFunctional-impact labelIncluded in total?
0Not difficult at allNo
1Somewhat difficultNo
2Very difficultNo
3Extremely difficultNo

Safety, Limitations, and Privacy:

PHQ-9 is an informational screening and severity measure, not a diagnosis, crisis assessment, or treatment recommendation. Self-report can be affected by recall, current circumstances, medical conditions, language, and willingness to disclose.

  • Any Item 9 response above Not at all requires direct clinical follow-up. The score cannot determine intent, plan, means, or immediate risk.
  • Answers and progress update this page's URL as you work. Anyone with the URL can read and edit the responses; the URL is not encrypted or access-controlled. Opening or reloading it sends the URL to this website and may leave it in browser history or server logs.
  • Starting over clears this attempt and removes its response state from the current URL; it does not erase previously copied links, browser history or server logs.

Worked Examples:

Minimal total with an Item 9 response

Suppose the first eight symptoms are rated Not at all, Item 9 is rated Several days, and functional impact is Somewhat difficult. The symptom total is 1, which falls in the minimal band, while Item 9 still activates direct follow-up. The function rating remains separate and does not raise the total to 2.

References: