Mental Health Screening Tools

Online mental health screening tools can be a helpful steppingstone in your healing journey. These online tools can help you identify what kind of mental health challenges you may be facing, which allows you to determine what next steps to take.  

Online screening tools do not provide “official” diagnoses. Rather, they provide a snapshot of your current mental health. If you receive results indicating that you are likely experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition, consider sharing those results with a trusted person in your life, such as a healthcare provider, counselor, or elder. To be “officially” diagnosed with a condition, you will need to have a conversation with a mental health provider, such as a therapist or doctor. Professionals can identify signs of mental illness an online screening tool will likely miss.  

If a conversation with a mental health professional seems intimidating, consider bringing the results of your mental health screening tool along with you. These test results can provide a concrete place to start.  

Mental health is complicated. It’s possible that finding the “right” diagnosis might take more time than we would like. If you receive a diagnosis that doesn’t seem to fit, it’s okay to get a second opinion. Using mental health screening tools may provide language to describe what you are experiencing.  

Online mental health screening tools can also be used to keep track of your mental health over time. Some screeners provide more detailed results, such as numeral scores. By tracking your results over time, you may notice results getting more extreme, signaling that it may be time to take a next step.  

There are various screening tools available to help you determine if the symptoms you are experiencing are a mental health condition. Mental Health of America has a website of several online screenings that are fast and easy to help you. Visit their website and take that step forward in getting help.