KGThe Kopitiam GPby Dr Nathan
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Private, in-browser screening

PHQ-9 depression symptom scale

A widely used nine-question screen that groups recent depressive symptoms into a severity band. Item 9 is a safety signal regardless of the total.

9items3 minaboutDepressioncategory
Your answers stay in this browser and are not saved or uploaded.Designed here for adults aged 18 and over. Young people should use an age-appropriate version with a clinician.

Think about

the past 2 weeks

Choose one answer for every question before viewing the score.

0 / 9
01Little interest or pleasure in doing things
02Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless
03Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much
04Feeling tired or having little energy
05Poor appetite or overeating
06Feeling bad about yourself — or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down
07Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television
08Moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed — or the opposite, being so fidgety or restless that you have been moving around more than usual
09Thoughts that you would be better off dead, or of hurting yourself in some way

Choosing the right scale

How this compares with similar tools

PHQ-9 gives a fuller severity picture than PHQ-2. A clinician still needs to consider duration, impairment, bipolar symptoms, grief, medicines and physical illness.

See the concise scale comparison

Sources and limits

PHQ-9

Clinical information checked: 29 Jul 2026

Original PHQ-9 validation studyPHQ-9 / GAD-7 public-domain permissionSamaritans of Singapore

Please consult your doctor. This is only a screening scale and is for reference only. Designed here for adults aged 18 and over. Young people should use an age-appropriate version with a clinician.