What Is Mental Health Screening and What Do the Scores Mean?
Mental health screening is a short, structured set of questions that flags whether you're likely experiencing symptoms of a condition such as depression, anxiety, or insomnia. It is not a diagnosis. Screening tools like PHQ-9 and GAD-7 produce a numeric score that maps to a severity band (for example, "mild" or "moderate"), which you can use to decide whether to seek professional help and to give a clinician a starting point. On One Mental Hub, screenings take roughly 3–8 minutes each, and results can be compiled into a report formatted for a GP visit.
Screening vs. diagnosis: what the difference actually means
A screening instrument is designed to be fast, standardized, and repeatable. It tells you how your symptoms compare to a known threshold — nothing more. A diagnosis, by contrast, requires a qualified clinician to assess your history, rule out other causes, and apply clinical criteria.
This distinction matters for two practical reasons:
- A high score is a signal, not a verdict. It means your answers resemble those of people with the condition, which is a reason to get evaluated — not proof you have it.
- A low score doesn't rule anything out. Screening tools are tuned to catch likely cases, and they can miss atypical presentations.
One Mental Hub states this directly: its 0–1000 Mental Health Score is "a personal wellness indicator — not a diagnosis."
The validated instruments and what each one measures
Each tool targets a specific symptom domain and has its own score range. The table below reflects the instruments and ranges listed on One Mental Hub.
| Tool | Full name | What it measures | Items | Score range | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHQ-9 | Patient Health Questionnaire-9 | Depression symptoms over the past 2 weeks | 9 | 0–27 | ~5 min |
| GAD-7 | Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 | Anxiety symptoms and severity | 7 | 0–21 | ~5 min |
| ACE | Adverse Childhood Experiences | Adverse experiences before age 18 | 10 | 0–10 | ~3 min |
| PCL-5 | PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 | Trauma-related distress over the past month | 20 | 0–80 | ~8 min |
| WSAS | Work and Social Adjustment Scale | How symptoms impair daily functioning | 5 | 0–40 | ~3 min |
| AUDIT | Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test | Hazardous drinking and alcohol-related harm | 10 | 0–40 | ~5 min |
| ISI | Insomnia Severity Index | Sleep difficulty, satisfaction, and daytime impact | 7 | 0–28 | ~5 min |
Two things are worth noting about how these fit together. First, the timeframes differ — PHQ-9 asks about the last 2 weeks, while PCL-5 asks about the last month — so you're not measuring the same window across all tools. Second, WSAS is a functional measure rather than a symptom measure: it captures how much your symptoms interfere with work, home, and social life, which is often the part clinicians care most about when deciding on a referral.
What the scores mean in practice
Scores are only useful if you know how to read them. The general logic across these tools is that higher numbers indicate greater symptom burden, and each range is divided into severity bands.
For PHQ-9 and GAD-7 specifically, the widely used band structure is:
- PHQ-9 (0–27): minimal, mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe
- GAD-7 (0–21): minimal, mild, moderate, severe
So a GAD-7 score in the mild band suggests some anxiety symptoms that aren't yet dominating your life, while a score in the severe band suggests symptoms substantial enough that a clinical conversation is warranted. One Mental Hub presents results in plain language — for example, "Anxiety Level: Mild" or "Depression Risk: Low" — rather than raw numbers alone, which makes the bands easier to interpret at a glance.
A few cautions apply to every one of these tools:
- Bands are guides, not cutoffs. Someone just below a threshold can still need help; someone just above it may not.
- Context changes interpretation. A recent bereavement, a physical illness, or a medication change can all shift your scores without indicating a new condition.
- Trends beat single readings. One Mental Hub updates your dashboard score as you complete screenings and daily check-ins (mood, energy, stress, sleep), which makes change over time more informative than any one result.
When a screening result should prompt you to see someone
There's no universal score at which you "must" seek care, but these situations are reasonable triggers to book an appointment:
- Your score falls in a moderate or higher band on PHQ-9, GAD-7, or ISI.
- Your WSAS results show that symptoms are interfering with work, relationships, or daily tasks.
- Your PCL-5 or ACE results surface experiences you haven't discussed with a professional and that still affect you.
- Your AUDIT score suggests drinking patterns that carry risk.
- Any result — high or low — doesn't match how you actually feel.
If you're having thoughts of harming yourself, that's not a screening question at all. Contact emergency services or a crisis line immediately rather than waiting on a score.
Preparing a screening report for a GP or referral
The practical value of screening is often in the conversation it starts. One Mental Hub generates a GP-ready report the same day, formatted for therapy referrals (Anordnung) in Switzerland, and the site notes it is available in DE, FR, IT, and EN.
To get the most out of that appointment:
- Complete the relevant screenings first, so the report contains actual scores rather than impressions.
- Bring the report to your GP and say plainly what you want — an assessment, a referral, or both.
- Add your own context. Note when symptoms started, what makes them worse or better, and anything the questionnaires didn't ask about.
- Ask what the next step is — whether that's a referral, a wait-and-see period, or further evaluation.
Creating an account is required to receive scores, and the site states no credit card is needed for that step. Screening is confidential, and the software is described as Certified Swiss Made Software.
The bottom line: use screening to get a structured read on your symptoms and a concrete artifact to bring to a clinician — then let a professional handle the diagnosis.