Patient Health Questionnaire-9  (PHQ-9; Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 2001).  The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 is a 9-item self-report measure assessing depressive symptoms in adults.   The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 can be used as a screening tool, a diagnostic tool, and to monitor symptom change over time. There exists a separate version for the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for adolescents within the Patient Health Questionnaire-Adolescent Version. Sample items include: “Little interest or pleasure in doing things” and “Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless.”  Each item is rated on a scale from zero (“not at all”) to three (“nearly every day”).  Total scores range from 0-27.  Meta-analysis of the PHQ-9 diagnostic accuracy compared to independent mental health professional diagnosis demonstrates good criterion validity with a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 94 %.  The PHQ is also validated as an 8- and 2-item measure to assess ...

Hamilton Scale for Depression HAMD or HDRS was developed by Max Hamilton in 1960 ● Clinician-rated, unlike Beck scales which are self-rated ● It starts with an item on depression and ends with one on obsessive-compulsive symptoms. ● The most widely used clinician-administered depression assessment scale. ● The original version contains 17 items (HDRS17) pertaining to symptoms of depression experienced over the past week. The HDRS was originally developed for hospital inpatients, thus the emphasis on melancholic and physical symptoms of depression. A later 21-item version (HDRS21) included 4 items intended to subtype the depression, but which are sometimes, incorrectly, used to rate severity. ● Only the first 17 should be used to measure the severity ● A limitation of the HDRS is that atypical symptoms of depression (e.g., hypersomnia, hyperphagia) are not assessed. Scoring  ● The method for scoring varies by version. For the HDRS17, a score of 0–7 is generally accepted to b...