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Check-in: How Are You Doing?

Two short questionnaires used in NHS services and in therapy everywhere: the PHQ-9, about low mood, and the GAD-7, about anxiety. Each takes about two minutes.

  • Your score is worked out here, in your own browser.
  • Nothing you enter is sent to Marking Therapy, stored, or seen by anyone unless you choose to print it and bring it to a session.
  • Completing a questionnaire does not make you a client and creates no record at Marking Therapy.

A score is a snapshot of the last two weeks, not a diagnosis. Marking Therapy does not diagnose; the questionnaires are a way of noticing how things are and putting words to it. If your score worries you, or if something feels wrong whatever the number says, that is reason enough to talk to someone.

If you need help now. If you are in immediate danger call 999; for urgent support call Samaritans on 116 123 or NHS 111 and choose option 2.

PHQ-9: low mood over the last two weeks

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

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

GAD-7: anxiety over the last two weeks

Over the last two weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems?

1. Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge
2. Not being able to stop or control worrying
3. Worrying too much about different things
4. Trouble relaxing
5. Being so restless that it is hard to sit still
6. Becoming easily annoyed or irritable
7. Feeling afraid, as if something awful might happen
If you ticked any problems, how difficult have they made it for you to do your work, take care of things at home, or get along with other people?

What the scores mean

  • PHQ-9, 0 to 27: 0 to 4 minimal, 5 to 9 mild, 10 to 14 moderate, 15 to 19 moderately severe, 20 to 27 severe.
  • GAD-7, 0 to 21: 0 to 4 minimal, 5 to 9 mild, 10 to 14 moderate, 15 to 21 severe.
  • The usual threshold for a meaningful change, rather than day to day variation, is five points on the PHQ-9 or four on the GAD-7.
  • Services often use a score of 10 or more as the point at which support is offered. The number is a guide, not a verdict, and people seek help at every score.

Bringing it to a session

  • Print the page, or save it as a PDF from the print dialogue, and bring it to your first session or your next one.
  • Repeating the questionnaires every few weeks and keeping the printouts is the simplest way to see how things move over time, with nothing stored online.
  • The booking page has the Initial Consultation, and questions are welcome at support@markingtherapy.com.

The PHQ-9 and GAD-7 were 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.

Sources: Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. W. (2001). The PHQ-9: Validity of a brief depression severity measure. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 16(9), 606-613.

Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B. W., & Löwe, B. (2006). A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: The GAD-7. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166(10), 1092-1097.

This page cannot respond to you, but people can, at any hour. If you are in immediate danger call 999; for urgent support call Samaritans on 116 123 or NHS 111 and choose option 2.

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