An Australian network of privately practising mental health professionals has built and launched an online tool that allows people to quickly gain insight into their level of depression, reports MedicalBrief. The tool is based on the PHQ-9, an internationally validated depression measure.
Dan Auerbach, clinical psychotherapist and managing director of Associated Counsellors & Psychologists, said that since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, his team had seen a 200% increase in calls from the public with questions about depression.
Logging on to and using the tool is free, and includes a series of questions for the user, then causes and symptoms, how depression differs from sadness, and available resources for help and support.