Psychiatry Symptom Screening Tools Overview

0:00 this talk is an overview of symptom screening tools used in Psychiatry I'll review my preferred tools for measuring and tracking psychiatric symptoms for a variety of common symptoms I'll separate the tools into screening tools which should be used at initial patient encounters to screen for and differentiate disorders and monitoring tools which can be used at follow-up encounters to track symptoms over time on the right side of the screen I'll show brief excerpts from each tool so you can get a better idea of how many items are included the time period it is meant to measure and example questions or items from the tool all the tools I'll be listing with one exception will be patient self-report tools that is questionnaires that the patient can fill out on their own in contrast to clinician rated tools which

0:47 the clinician would fill out based on their observations of the patient for depression the phq9 includes nine items to screen for major depressive symptoms including anhedonia depressed mood and sleep problems it is brief and ideal for screening and can also be used to monitor depression symptoms over time for suicidal ideation the complete form of the cssrs is a comprehensive review of suicidal ideation intensity of ideation and suicidal behaviors over the lifetime the since last visit version of the cssrs can then be used to monitor the intensity of Si over time the scared is ideal as a screen for anxiety as it reviews symptoms in multiple an anxiety domains including generalized anxiety

1:32 Panic symptoms and social anxiety once you distinguish the specific subtypes of anxiety it is better to use more specific screening and monitoring tools for generalized anxiety the g87 is a brief seven item tool that can be used for both screening and monitoring for panic symptoms the Pas measures not only frequency and severity of panic attacks but also ask the patient to outline specific situations associated with panic attacks which can give you a better idea of targets for exposure therapy in follow-up encounters the pdss is a briefer tool that can track panic attack frequency and severity over time for social anxiety the SAQ a30 is a longer tool that measures social anxiety in five different domains public

2:18 speaking romantic interactions assertive expression criticism and embarrassment and interactions with strangers the SAS is briefer and specifically monitors problems and social interactions for obsessive and compulsive symptoms the Y box is the gold standard for both screening and monitoring OCD symptoms the complete tool is extensive and includes a checklist of symptoms that can help to Target exposure therapy in followup sessions you can focus on only the obsession and compulsion severity items as a briefer way to monitor symptoms for Mania the mdq screens for any past manic episodes across the lifetime the asrm by contrast monitors for early symptoms of a manic episode over the past week and

3:04 is therefore better for monitoring for psychosis the pans is a clinician rated tool and is therefore the one exception to the self-report tools on this list the reason for this is that patients with psychosis often do not have insight into their symptoms and therefore would be unable to report them themselves for patients who do have Insight the pyats can be used to monitor severity of positive symptoms in psychosis that is hallucination and delusions over time for trauma related symptoms the PCL 5 can be used to both screen for and monitor symptoms of PTSD and for ADHD symptoms the asrs can be used to both screen for and monitor symptoms of ADHD for substance use disorders the dast 10 is a general screen for abuse of

3:50 any kind of drug the Sip can be used to monitor for consequences of problem drug use over time for alcohol use disorder specifically the audit C is a very brief tool validated for screening while the Sip can similarly be used to monitor for consequences of alcohol use finally for Sleep Disorders the psqi can screen for both sleep hygiene issues causing sleep problems as well as organic sleep problems such as obstructive sleep apneia the consensus sleep diary is a standardized sleep diary to track sleep behaviors on a daily basis and to Target specific behavioral areas for improvement that's the end of this talk there are many other tools available for measuring these symptoms but I've tried to curate the ones that are best validated and easiest to use in clinical practice thank you