Mental Health Assessment
A confidential self-assessment built on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), a screening used in national health surveys around the world. In three minutes you get an instant, plain-language read on your overall distress level and a professional PDF report you can keep or bring to a therapist.
Mental Health Assessment is a free, confidential 10-question self-assessment, based on the validated K10. It takes about 3 minutes, runs entirely in your browser, and gives you a plain-language score across 4 interpretation bands plus a downloadable PDF report. It is an educational screening, not a diagnosis.
One honest number for how you have been doing overall
The K10 was built to capture general psychological distress rather than any single condition. It asks how often ten common experiences of low mood, nervousness, and fatigue showed up over the past 30 days, then turns your answers into a single distress score with research-backed ranges.
Signs of distress
Ten items ask how often, in the past 30 days, you felt nervous, hopeless, restless, depressed, worthless, or worn out. Together they cover the overlap between anxiety and low mood that most single-condition tests miss.
A recent time window
Every question asks about the past 30 days, so your result reflects how this last month has actually been rather than your whole life or your worst year.
Research-based ranges
Your answers sum to a single distress score that maps onto four ranges, from likely well to severe distress, using cutoffs established in large population studies.
| Feature | Typical free quiz | Psychology.com |
|---|---|---|
| Validated K10 questions | Sometimes | Yes, faithful wording |
| Research-based severity ranges | Vague labels | Real population-study cutoffs |
| Covers mood, anxiety, and stress together | Usually one topic | Yes, general distress |
| Plain-language interpretation | Rarely | Yes, for every range |
| Clinician-reviewed | Rarely | Yes, clinician reviewed |
| Downloadable PDF report | No | Yes, branded & shareable |
| Confidential (no data sent) | Often tracked | Runs in your browser |
How scoring works
Answers are scored 0–40 in total. Your result falls into one of 4 bands:
| Score | Band | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|
| 0–9 | Likely well | Your answers point to a low level of psychological distress over the past month. That is a reassuring result on this measure. |
| 10–14 | Mild distress | Your answers point to mild psychological distress over the past month. Plenty of people pass through this range, and there is a lot you can do. |
| 15–19 | Moderate distress | Your answers point to moderate psychological distress. This is the range where talking with a professional is genuinely worth it. |
| 20–40 | Severe distress | Your answers point to a high level of distress over the past month. Please be gentle with yourself, and consider reaching out for support soon. |
Methodology & sources
This assessment reproduces the ten items of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), developed by Kessler and colleagues (2002) and used in national health surveys in the United States, Australia, Canada, and elsewhere. Each item asks how often you had a particular experience over the past 30 days, rated on a five-point frequency scale from none of the time to all of the time. Item wording stays faithful to the validated instrument.
One honest note on scoring: the published K10 assigns each answer 1 to 5 points, giving a total of 10 to 50, with cutoffs of 10 to 19 likely well, 20 to 24 mild, 25 to 29 moderate, and 30 to 50 severe. Our engine scores each answer 0 to 4 instead, so your total runs from 0 to 40. The two versions are identical apart from a constant: our score is simply the published score minus 10, and our ranges are the published cutoffs shifted down by the same 10 points (0 to 9 likely well, 10 to 14 mild, 15 to 19 moderate, 20 to 40 severe). Your answers are interpreted against exactly the same research-based thresholds. This test is provided for education and self-reflection, not diagnosis. Only a licensed clinician can assess a mental-health condition, and a high score here is a prompt to reach out, not a label.
References
- Kessler RC, Andrews G, Colpe LJ, et al. Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychol Med. 2002;32(6):959–976. doi.org/10.1017/s0033291702006074
- Andrews G, Slade T. Interpreting scores on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Aust N Z J Public Health. 2001;25(6):494–497. doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-842x.2001.tb00310.x
- Furukawa TA, Kessler RC, Slade T, Andrews G. The performance of the K6 and K10 screening scales for psychological distress in the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being. Psychol Med. 2003;33(2):357–362. doi.org/10.1017/s0033291702006700
Mental Health Assessment FAQ
What does this mental health assessment measure?
It measures general psychological distress: the mix of low mood, nervousness, restlessness, fatigue, and hopelessness that cuts across depression, anxiety, and stress. It uses the ten questions of the validated K10 scale, asking how often each experience occurred over the past 30 days, and gives you a single distress score with research-based ranges.
Is this test a diagnosis?
No. It is a screening for education and self-reflection only. The K10 was designed to flag distress in populations, not to diagnose any condition in an individual. Only a licensed clinician can do that, usually by talking with you about your symptoms, history, and life context. If your result concerns you, treat it as a nudge to reach out.
What does a high score mean?
On our 0 to 40 version, a score of 15 or more suggests moderate distress and 20 or more suggests severe distress, matching the published K10 cutoffs of 25 and 30 on its 10 to 50 scale. In population research, people scoring in these ranges are considerably more likely to meet criteria for an anxiety or depressive disorder. A high score does not confirm anything on its own, but it is a strong signal that a conversation with a professional would be worthwhile.
Where does the K10 come from?
The K10 was developed by Ronald Kessler and colleagues at Harvard in the 1990s for the US National Health Interview Survey. It was built through large-scale item testing to pick the ten questions that best detect psychological distress across the population. It has since become a standard measure in national health surveys and in primary care in several countries, including Australia, where its interpretation ranges were established.
Is the test really confidential?
Yes. It runs entirely in your browser. Your answers are never sent to a server, never stored, and never linked to you. No account is needed, and the optional PDF is generated on your own device.
Can psychological distress get better?
Yes. Distress is a state, not a fixed trait, and it responds to care. Therapy has strong evidence for both low mood and anxiety, and many people improve with a combination of professional support, better sleep, movement, and steady social connection. Scores on the K10 routinely fall as people get the right help.
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