Depression Screening Charleston SC - What the PHQ Questions Mean | Hope Integrative Medicine
October 30, 2026 · 1:08
Why your primary care visit asks about mood, what the PHQ-2 and PHQ-9 questions measure, what a score means and what happens next.
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Transcript
Depression screening at your checkup: what the questions mean. Here are three things to know. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening all adults for depression. About 7.4 percent of adults had a major depressive episode in the past year. And depression does not always look like sadness. It can show up as poor sleep, low energy, aches or trouble concentrating. Most practices use the Patient Health Questionnaire. The PHQ-2 asks how often, over the past two weeks, you have had little interest in doing things, or felt down or hopeless. If either answer points to a problem, the nine-question PHQ-9 follows. A screening score is not a diagnosis. It tells your provider whether to look more closely. If screening suggests depression, the next step is a fuller evaluation. Options include counseling, medication or both. Read the full article at hopeintegrativemed.com. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
Frequently Asked Questions
Over the past two weeks, how often have you had little interest or pleasure in doing things, and how often have you felt down, depressed or hopeless?
It has nine questions about sleep, energy, appetite, concentration and other symptoms. Each is scored from 0 to 3, for a total from 0 to 27.
In studies reviewed by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the PHQ-9 at its standard cutoff of 10 identified about 85 percent of people with major depression.
