Goldberg Depression Test (Goldberg Depression Scale)

You may refer to the score ranges and designations of the Goldberg Depression Scale, so you know the severity of your patient’s depression symptoms.

While it does sound strange to quantify a depression’s severity level, what the Goldberg Depression Scale and many other depression scales do is create a semblance of objectivity through their score ranges and designations. The answers are based on your patient’s perspective, so it is technically subjective, but the numbers are there to give you an idea as to how mild or severe your patient’s depression is, and it’ll help you create a plan for your patient, like what medication they need to take and what therapy program they should be enrolled in.

Yes. Depression tests and depression scales are, more often than not, self-assessments. You can definitely use the Goldberg Depression Scale to assess yourself. However, you should not diagnose yourself with depression under any circumstance. If you want to know if you actually have depression, please get yourself checked by a professional.