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Providers & Clinicians

At the Florida Maternal Mental Health Collaborative, we endeavor to address the significant maternal mental health needs in our community. We work hard to ensure that clinicians and providers have the resources and support they need to tackle perinatal mental health effectively. We believe that accessing mental health care should be easy, and we’re here to make that happen.

Screenings

This 10 item self-report questionnaire can be readily found online for free with scoring instructions.
It is easy to score, designed specifically for use in peripartum populations, is well validated during pregnancy and postpartum, available in over 20 languages, and is cross-culturally validated. The disadvantages of this screening tool are that it is not linked with DSM diagnostic criteria and that is cannot be used for assessment or treatment tracking. (Cox & Holden, 2003)
This online version is used in the Pediatric Residency Program at UCSF, Fresno and is used with permission.

EDINBURGH POSTNATAL DEPRESSION SCALE (EPDS)

PATIENT HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE (PHQ-9)

This 9 item self-report questionnaire can also be readily found online for free with scoring instructions. It is easy to score with items and scores linked to DSM depression criteria, can be used to assess and track treatment response, and can be used not just for peripartum populations, but also for non-peripartum patients in the same clinic. The disadvantages of this tool are that is was no designed for peripartum use (somatic confounds), it has only been validated by 2 studies for peripartum use, and that it is best validated for tracking response to treatment. (Kroenke, 2001)

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In 2010, Pfizer, Inc. made the PHQ-9 along with the GAD-7 (anxiety screener) available for free to the public with permission to use, replicate, translate, display, or distribute. It can be found for download, along with a manual for scoring online.

CENTER FOR EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES—DEPRESSION SCALE (CES-D)

This 20 item self-report tool is designed for community use. One study showed that it is better than the EPDS at identifying psychomotor retardation. However, there are potential somatic confounds and there are very few validation data for use on postpartum populations and none on antepartum. (Radloff, 1977)

The CES-D is in the public domain and is free to use.

BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY II (BDI)

This 21 item self-report questionnaire is designed for use in clinic populations. It is not available for free online and must be purchased.

It is linked to the DSM and tracks response to treatment. However, there are very few validation data for use on postpartum populations and none on antepartum. There are also potential somatic confounds. (Beck, 1988)
More information on purchasing the rights to this screen can be found in the following link.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7)

The Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale-7 (GAD-7) is a seven-item diagnostic tool validated in both the primary care setting and the general population.

CAGE-AID Substance Abuse Screening Tool

A five-question tool used to screen for drug and alcohol use; answering yes to two or more questions indicates a complete assessment is advised.

POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION SCREENING SCALE (PDSS)

This 35 item self-report designed specifically for postpartum use. It is not available for free online and must be purchased.

The advantages to this screening are that it does into greater symptom detail and reduces somatic confounds.

The disadvantages are that it is time consuming, not linked to the DSM, and has little validation data for postpartum populations and none for antepartum. (Beck & Gable, 2000)
More information on purchasing the rights to this screening can be found in the following link.

SOURCES

Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Carbin, M. G. (1988). Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory: Twenty-five years of evaluation. Clinical psychology review, 8(1), 77-100.

Beck, Cheryl Tatano, and Robert K. Gable. “Postpartum Depression Screening Scale: development and psychometric testing.” Nursing research49, no. 5 (2000): 272-282.

Cox, J., & Holden, J. (2003). Perinatal mental health: A guide to the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. (2001). The Phq‐9. Journal of general internal medicine, 16(9), 606-613.

Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied psychological measurement, 1(3), 385-401.

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