All Free Mental Health Screening Tools and Self-Checks
Last updated: 2026-04-29. Reviewed by Jason Ramirez, CADC-II.
MindCheck Tools hosts 74 validated mental health screening instruments plus practical calculators and coping skill tools. Every screener listed in this index is reproduced from a published, peer-reviewed instrument, scored according to the source paper, and reviewed by a CADC-II clinical reviewer before going live.
For the source study, validated population, sensitivity and specificity, and licensing status of each instrument, see the clinical evidence page. For how the site selects instruments, preserves scoring, and handles your responses, see the methodology page.
Depression
Self-checks for depressive symptoms in the past two weeks, including population-specific versions. Scores are educational and do not diagnose major depressive disorder.
Nine-item screen for depressive symptom severity used widely in primary care.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 9 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
PHQ-4 Quick Screen
PHQ-4Ultra-brief combined depression and anxiety screen, 2 items each.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 4 items
- Time
- Under 2 minutes
Plain-language entry point that walks you through the same depressive symptom set as PHQ-9.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 9 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
Twenty-item depression scale used in community and research settings.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 20 items
- Time
- About 5 minutes
PHQ-9-based check framed for symptom presentations more common in men.
- Population
- Adult men
- Length
- 9 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
Companion landing page focused on how men often experience depression.
- Population
- Adult men
- Length
- 9 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
Postpartum-aware depression check for the first year after childbirth.
- Population
- Postpartum mothers
- Length
- 10 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
Edinburgh-style postpartum depression screen for the perinatal period.
- Population
- Perinatal women
- Length
- 10 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
Depression screen calibrated for older adults, including somatic and grief-related framing.
- Population
- Adults 65+
- Length
- 9 items
- Time
- About 4 minutes
Adolescent-framed depression screen, parent-aware language.
- Population
- Adolescents 12 to 17
- Length
- 9 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
PHQ-9-based screen with veteran-aware context, paired with PTSD resources.
- Population
- Veterans and active duty
- Length
- 9 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
Anxiety
Generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and combined depression-anxiety-stress checks. Useful as a starting point for a conversation with a clinician about anxious symptoms.
GAD-7 Anxiety Test
GAD-7Seven-item generalized anxiety screen used widely in primary care.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 7 items
- Time
- About 2 minutes
Twenty-one-item scale that scores depression, anxiety, and stress separately.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 21 items
- Time
- About 5 minutes
Seventeen-item screen for social anxiety symptoms across fear, avoidance, and physiologic items.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 17 items
- Time
- About 4 minutes
GAD-7-based check with framing aligned to common male symptom presentations.
- Population
- Adult men
- Length
- 7 items
- Time
- About 2 minutes
GAD-7-based check with framing aligned to common female symptom presentations.
- Population
- Adult women
- Length
- 7 items
- Time
- About 2 minutes
Adolescent-framed anxiety screen.
- Population
- Adolescents 12 to 17
- Length
- 7 items
- Time
- About 2 minutes
Social anxiety screen with college-context examples.
- Population
- College students
- Length
- 17 items
- Time
- About 4 minutes
Trauma and PTSD
Post-traumatic stress symptom checks plus a screen for adverse childhood experiences. PTSD diagnosis requires a clinical interview, not a self-report screen.
PCL-5 PTSD Checklist
PCL-5Twenty-item DSM-5-aligned PTSD symptom checklist.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 20 items
- Time
- About 6 minutes
PC-PTSD-5 Primary Care PTSD Screen
PC-PTSD-5Five-item brief PTSD screen used in primary care.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 5 items
- Time
- Under 2 minutes
Plain-language entry point built on the PC-PTSD-5 and PCL-5 frameworks.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 5 to 20 items
- Time
- 2 to 6 minutes
PTSD screen with examples specific to police, fire, EMS, and dispatch contexts.
- Population
- First responders
- Length
- 20 items
- Time
- About 6 minutes
PTSD screen with combat-related and military-context framing.
- Population
- Veterans and active duty
- Length
- 20 items
- Time
- About 6 minutes
Ten-item Adverse Childhood Experiences screen used in trauma-informed care.
- Population
- Adults reflecting on childhood before age 18
- Length
- 10 items
- Time
- About 4 minutes
Alcohol and substance use
Brief screens used in primary care, addiction medicine, and recovery support. Screening identifies risk patterns, not a substance use disorder diagnosis.
Ten-item alcohol use screen developed by the World Health Organization.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 10 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
AUDIT-C Quick Alcohol Screen
AUDIT-CThree-item brief version of the AUDIT focused on consumption.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 3 items
- Time
- Under 2 minutes
CAGE-AID Substance Use Screen
CAGE-AIDFour-item screen for alcohol and other drug problems.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 4 items
- Time
- Under 2 minutes
Ten-item screen for non-medical drug use problems in the past 12 months.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 10 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
Adolescent substance use screen used in pediatric and school-based care.
- Population
- Adolescents 12 to 21
- Length
- 6 to 9 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
World Health Organization screen across tobacco, alcohol, and other substances.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- Up to 8 items per substance
- Time
- 5 to 10 minutes
Plain-language entry point built on the AUDIT framework.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 10 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
AUDIT-based screen with examples specific to college drinking patterns.
- Population
- College students
- Length
- 10 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
AUDIT-based screen using the recommended lower threshold for women.
- Population
- Adult women
- Length
- 10 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
AUDIT-based screen with active-duty and veteran context.
- Population
- Active duty and veterans
- Length
- 10 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
CRAFFT-based teen substance use screen.
- Population
- Adolescents 12 to 17
- Length
- 6 to 9 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
Reflective screen for parents about their own substance use and family impact.
- Population
- Parents
- Length
- 10 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
ADHD
Adult ADHD screens including the ASRS plus population-framed versions. ADHD diagnosis requires a clinical evaluation, including history and rule-outs.
Eighteen-item adult ADHD symptom checklist with a six-item screener subset, developed with the World Health Organization.
- Population
- Adults 18+
- Length
- 18 items (6-item screener)
- Time
- About 5 minutes
ASRS-based check framed for first-time adult ADHD self-screening.
- Population
- Adults 18+
- Length
- 18 items
- Time
- About 5 minutes
ASRS-based screen with framing for inattentive and internalizing presentations more often missed in women.
- Population
- Adult women
- Length
- 18 items
- Time
- About 5 minutes
Adolescent-framed ADHD screen.
- Population
- Adolescents 12 to 17
- Length
- 18 items
- Time
- About 5 minutes
Eating disorders
Brief screens to surface possible disordered eating. Eating disorder diagnosis requires evaluation by a clinician with training in eating disorders.
Five-item brief screen for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
- Population
- General adults and adolescents
- Length
- 5 items
- Time
- Under 2 minutes
Disordered-eating screen with athlete-context items including weight-class and aesthetic-sport pressures.
- Population
- Athletes
- Length
- 5 to 10 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
OCD
Obsessive-compulsive symptom screens. OCD diagnosis requires a clinical interview that distinguishes OCD from related disorders.
Eighteen-item OCD symptom screen across six subscales.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 18 items
- Time
- About 4 minutes
Adolescent-framed OCD symptom screen.
- Population
- Adolescents 12 to 17
- Length
- 18 items
- Time
- About 4 minutes
Bipolar
Bipolar spectrum screens focus on lifetime hypomanic or manic episodes. A positive screen is not a bipolar diagnosis and should be reviewed with a clinician.
Thirteen-item bipolar spectrum screen plus impairment and co-occurrence items.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 15 items
- Time
- About 4 minutes
MDQ-based screen with framing common to first-episode presentations in young adults.
- Population
- Young adults 18 to 25
- Length
- 15 items
- Time
- About 4 minutes
Borderline personality
Brief screens for borderline personality traits. BPD diagnosis requires a structured clinical interview and longitudinal observation, not a self-report screen.
Ten-item brief screen for borderline personality features.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 10 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
MSI-BPD-based screen framed for the developmental period when BPD often first presents.
- Population
- Young adults 18 to 25
- Length
- 10 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
MSI-BPD-based screen with framing for presentations commonly missed or mislabeled in women.
- Population
- Adult women
- Length
- 10 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
Autism spectrum
Adult autism screening. A positive screen suggests further evaluation by a clinician experienced in autism spectrum assessment, not a diagnosis.
Ten-item brief autism spectrum screen for adults.
- Population
- Adults 16+
- Length
- 10 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
Personality and self-concept
Educational self-reflection tools. These are not clinical diagnostics. They are intended for personal insight and conversation, not for hiring, custody, or other consequential decisions.
Trait-level personality reflection across openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- About 50 items
- Time
- About 8 minutes
Educational reflection on attachment patterns in close relationships.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- About 30 items
- Time
- About 6 minutes
Same framework applied to a current relationship for joint reflection.
- Population
- Couples
- Length
- About 30 items each
- Time
- About 10 minutes for both
Ten-item global self-esteem scale, widely used in research and education.
- Population
- Adolescents and adults
- Length
- 10 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
Reflective sort of personal values, used in motivational interviewing and ACT-based work.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- Card sort
- Time
- About 10 minutes
Stress, burnout, and resilience
Stress load, burnout, and resilience checks. Burnout is a workplace phenomenon described by the World Health Organization, not a medical diagnosis on its own.
Six-item nonspecific psychological distress scale used in population health.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 6 items
- Time
- Under 2 minutes
Life-events stress inventory totaling Life Change Units across the past year.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 43 events
- Time
- About 5 minutes
Six-item scale of bounce-back style resilience.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 6 items
- Time
- Under 2 minutes
Multi-domain burnout reflection covering exhaustion, mental distance, and impairment.
- Population
- Working adults
- Length
- About 23 items
- Time
- About 5 minutes
Burnout reflection with healthcare-specific examples.
- Population
- Healthcare workers
- Length
- About 22 items
- Time
- About 5 minutes
Burnout reflection framed for nursing workloads and shift patterns.
- Population
- Nurses
- Length
- About 22 items
- Time
- About 5 minutes
Burnout reflection framed for K to 12 and higher-education educators.
- Population
- Teachers
- Length
- About 22 items
- Time
- About 5 minutes
Parental burnout reflection covering exhaustion, distancing, and contrast with prior self.
- Population
- Parents
- Length
- About 22 items
- Time
- About 5 minutes
Reflection on secondary traumatic stress and compassion satisfaction.
- Population
- Helping professionals and caregivers
- Length
- About 30 items
- Time
- About 7 minutes
Self-check for unpaid family or chosen-family caregivers.
- Population
- Family caregivers
- Length
- About 22 items
- Time
- About 5 minutes
Workplace stress self-check covering demands, control, and support.
- Population
- Working adults
- Length
- About 15 items
- Time
- About 4 minutes
Stress check framed for academic, social, and financial pressures of college life.
- Population
- College students
- Length
- About 15 items
- Time
- About 4 minutes
General mental health and wellbeing
Brief positive-functioning checks. These complement deficit-focused screens by tracking what is going well.
Five-item wellbeing scale developed by the World Health Organization, often used as a general mental health barometer.
- Population
- General adults and adolescents
- Length
- 5 items
- Time
- Under 2 minutes
Two-item depression plus two-item anxiety quick screen.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- 4 items
- Time
- Under 2 minutes
Loneliness and social
Loneliness self-checks. The UCLA scale is the most cited measure of loneliness in research.
Twenty-item self-report scale of loneliness across connection, belonging, and isolation.
- Population
- Adolescents and adults
- Length
- 20 items
- Time
- About 5 minutes
Loneliness check framed for older adults, including bereavement and mobility-related social loss.
- Population
- Adults 65+
- Length
- 20 items
- Time
- About 5 minutes
Sleep
Brief sleep self-checks. Insomnia diagnosis requires a clinical interview that includes sleep schedule, daytime impairment, and rule-outs.
Eight-item insomnia symptom scale aligned with ICD-10 sleep criteria.
- Population
- Adolescents and adults
- Length
- 8 items
- Time
- Under 3 minutes
Combined sleep and mood reflection for tracking the bidirectional link between the two.
- Population
- General adults
- Length
- About 12 items
- Time
- About 3 minutes
Grief
Grief self-reflection. Most grief is not a disorder. Prolonged grief disorder, defined in the DSM-5-TR, requires clinical evaluation.
Reflection on grief intensity, function, and time since loss.
- Population
- Bereaved adults
- Length
- About 12 items
- Time
- About 4 minutes
Calculators and practical tools
Educational calculators and reference timelines. These are not screening instruments and do not produce a score against published cutoffs.
- Mental Load Calculator
Estimate the cognitive and emotional load you carry across household and care domains.
- Sobriety Calculator
Track days, months, and years sober from a chosen quit date.
- Money Saved Recovery Calculator
Estimate money saved by stopping or reducing alcohol or other drug use.
- Treatment Cost Estimator
Ballpark estimate for inpatient, outpatient, and ongoing treatment costs in the United States.
- BAC Calculator
Educational estimate of blood alcohol concentration based on drinks, weight, and time. Not a substitute for a breathalyzer.
- Standard Drinks Calculator
Convert beer, wine, and spirits into United States standard drink units.
- Withdrawal Timeline
Educational timeline of typical withdrawal phases for several substances.
- Health Recovery Timeline
Educational timeline of physical recovery milestones after stopping alcohol or other drug use.
Coping and skills practice
Brief skills tools drawn from CBT, DBT, motivational interviewing, and relapse prevention literature. They are practice aids, not screeners and not therapy.
- Box Breathing Exercise
Four-by-four breath pacing used in stress regulation.
- Five Senses Grounding
Sensory grounding exercise for acute distress and dissociation.
- CBT Thought Record
Structured CBT worksheet for situation, thought, feeling, evidence, and balanced thought.
- Cognitive Distortion Identifier
Spot common cognitive distortions in your own thinking.
- DBT Crisis Skills
DBT distress tolerance and TIP skills reference for high-distress moments.
- Urge Surfing Timer
Timer-based urge surfing practice from relapse prevention work.
- HALT Check-In
Hungry, angry, lonely, tired self-check used in recovery support.
- Worry Time Scheduler
CBT-based stimulus-control technique for chronic worry.
- Daily Recovery Check-In
Brief daily reflection on cravings, triggers, gratitude, and plan.
- Coping Skills Randomizer
Random prompt across distraction, soothing, and connection categories.
- Trigger Identification Worksheet
Map internal and external triggers and pair them with planned responses.
- Relapse Prevention Plan
Build a written plan covering warning signs, supports, and steps.
- Safety Plan
Stanley-Brown style suicide safety plan template.
- Readiness to Change
Stages of change reflection used in motivational interviewing.
- Family Impact Assessment
Reflective check for how a substance use or mental health pattern is affecting family relationships.
About this index
Reviewed by Jason Ramirez, CADC-II, a Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor with 11 years of clinical experience. For instrument source studies see the clinical evidence page. For selection and scoring standards see the methodology page. To report an error, contact us.