Skip to content

PHQ-9

PHQ-9 Is a questionnaire-based assessment used to gauge a patient's depression. A much simpler PHQ-2 questionnaire may be used first. Both questionnaires are based on how a user has felt over the last two weeks and asks the following nine questions, with available answers being a) not at all, b) several days, c) more than half the days and d) nearly every day;

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

A 'score' of;

  • 10-14 indicates moderate depression
  • 15-19 indicates moderately severe depression
  • 20-27 indicates severe depression

Patients are typically asked to complete the questionnaire on a regular basic in order to access the effectiveness of therapy, medication or other treatments.

See GAD-2 and GAD-9 related to anxiety.

References

Metadata

Created: 2026-05-15

Last Updated: 2026-05-18