How is depression diagnosed?

    Published: 06-16-2009
    Views: 9,602
    Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Dr. Kim Penberthy explains how doctors diagnose depression.

    Host: How is depression diagnosed?

    Dr. Kim Penberthy: It's diagnosed by asking questions about the symptoms that you have. Unfortunately, right now we don't have a blood test or a brain scan or anything like that that we can do to definitely qualify that you do or do not have depression. So it's based on your report of symptoms and functioning and so it would involve people asking you in a real structured way the different symptoms you are having, how often you are having them, how long you have had them and if you have had them before, if they are worse or better, if people in your family have had these symptoms and they calculate those symptoms up and look at the circumstances in your life, in your family history and make a determination as to whether or not you have depression.