Mental health assessment
Free PHQ-2 Depression Screening Test
Take the two-question depression pre-screen used across primary care worldwide. It takes under a minute, your answers never leave your device, and a positive result points you straight to the full PHQ-9.
Frequently asked questions
What is the PHQ-2?
The Patient Health Questionnaire-2 consists of the first two items of the PHQ-9, covering depressed mood and loss of interest. It was validated as a standalone screen by Kroenke, Spitzer, and Williams in 2003 and is widely used as a first filter in primary care.
How is the PHQ-2 scored?
Each item scores 0 to 3 based on how many days over the past two weeks the symptom was present, giving a total of 0 to 6. A score of 3 or above is a positive screen and indicates that the full PHQ-9 should be completed.
Why is the cutoff 3 rather than higher?
Because the PHQ-2 is designed to prioritise sensitivity over specificity. Its purpose is to avoid missing people, accepting that a proportion of positive screens will not turn out to be depression once the fuller questionnaire is completed. A higher cutoff would miss more cases, which is the wrong error for a pre-screen.
Should I take the PHQ-9 instead?
If you have two minutes, yes. The PHQ-9 covers all nine symptoms, produces a severity band rather than a pass or fail, and includes the item on thoughts of self-harm that the PHQ-2 does not ask about. The PHQ-2 exists for settings where even two minutes is not available.
About this screening tool
The PHQ-2 was validated by Kurt Kroenke, Robert Spitzer, and Janet Williams and published in Medical Care in 2003. The PHQ family was released for use without permission or fee and is in the public domain. This screener is provided for information and does not replace assessment by a qualified clinician.
References
Your PHQ-2 result in context
The PHQ-2 is a triage instrument, and understanding that explains most of its behaviour. It is built to be answered in under a minute in a waiting room, and its cutoff is set to catch as many people as possible rather than to be right most of the time.
That design has a direct consequence: a positive PHQ-2 on its own means relatively little. A substantial share of people who screen positive do not meet criteria for depression once the full PHQ-9 is completed. The result is an instruction to keep going, not a finding.
The one thing worth knowing about what it omits: the PHQ-2 does not ask about thoughts of self-harm. That is item 9 of the PHQ-9, and it is the single most clinically important question in the instrument. A negative PHQ-2 does not screen for it at all.
Other screens you might also take
The PHQ-2 is a first filter. These cover the ground it deliberately leaves out.