What is a mental health screening?

A mental health screening is a standard set of questions that a person answers to help a health care provider check for signs of a mental disorder. The questions help the provider learn about a person's mood, thinking, behavior, and memory.

A mental health screening is a way to catch mental health conditions early. If the screening shows signs of a disorder, more testing is usually needed to diagnose a specific mental disorder. Mental disorders are also called mental illnesses, and a mental health screening may be called a "mental illness test" or a "psychology test."

More than half of all Americans will have a mental disorder at some point in their lives. Their symptoms may range from mild to severe. Common mental disorders include:

• Mood disorders, which include depression, bipolar disorder, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and self-harm.
• Anxiety disorders, which include panic disorder, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Anxiety is a common disorder in children.
• Eating disorders, which include anorexia and bulimia.
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD is one of the most common mental health disorders in children. It can also continue into adulthood.
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
• Personality disorders.
• Substance use disorders, which include alcohol use disorder and drug use and addiction.
• Psychotic disorders, which include schizophrenia.

These and other mental disorders affect people of all ages, including children. So, there are special mental health screening tests designed for children, teenagers, and older adults. Some screening tests look for general signs of the most common mental disorders. Other screening tests look for signs related to specific types of disorders.

Mental health screening can be an important part of your total health at every stage of life. Mental health symptoms can be a sign of certain physical conditions. And certain mental disorders can increase the risk of developing physical health problems. With proper mental health screening, diagnosis, and treatment, people with mental health disorders can get better and many recover completely.

Other names: mental health assessment, mental illness test, psychological evaluation, psychology test, psychiatric evaluation

What is it used for?

A mental health screening is usually used as the first step to find out if a person has signs of a mental disorder. It may be part of a routine checkup. A screening test is used to see whether a person:

• Has a risk for developing a mental disorder
• Needs more testing to diagnose or rule out a mental health disorder
• Needs mental health care right away, before diagnostic testing can be finished

Mental health screening may also be used to see if treatment for a mental disorder is working.

You may use mental health screening to help decide if you or someone else needs to see a psychiatrist for testing and/or treatment. A psychiatrist is a health care professional who specializes in diagnosing and treating mental health problems. Psychiatrist may use the results of a screening test to choose which other tests are needed to diagnose or rule out a specific mental disorder.

Why do I need a mental health screening?

You or your child may need a mental health screening if you have symptoms of a mental disorder. Different disorders have specific symptoms.

General symptoms of mental disorders may include:

• Eating or sleeping too much or too little
• Pulling away from people and usual activities
• Fatigue and lack of energy
• Feeling helpless, hopeless, or numb like nothing matters
• Smoking, drinking, or using drugs more than usual
• Feeling unusually confused, forgetful, nervous, angry, worried, or scared
• Severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships
• Thoughts and memories that you can't get out of your head
• Hearing voices or believing things that aren't true
• Thinking about death, suicide or harming yourself or others

Signs of mental disorders in children may also include:

• Frequent tantrums and other behavior problems
• Frequent stomachaches or headaches without a known medical cause
• Difficulty in school
• Repeating actions or constantly checking things out of fear that something bad will happen
• Talking a lot about fears, worries, death, or suicide.