Are you looking for ways to improve your mental health and possibly considering treatment, but not sure where to start? Digital mental health assessment tools can help you in more ways than one. 

For one thing, they can give you a snapshot of your overall mental health right now. They can also help you identify symptoms of potential conditions and find the language to discuss them with care providers. 

With big-picture insights and a clearer focus on what you’d like to improve, you can set specific goals for treatment and find care providers who are a good fit.

While digital assessment tools can help you understand what you’re experiencing, and they’re sometimes used by licensed clinicians, they’re not diagnostic tools in themselves. 

If a digital tool shows that your symptoms are consistent with a mental health condition, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have that condition. It means you may benefit from speaking with a clinician who has experience diagnosing and treating that condition. 

In this article, we’ll share six digital mental health screening tools you can use to monitor your mental wellness and guide your search for treatment.

6 digital tools for mental health screening

Digital screening tools may come in the form of guides, quizzes or mood tracking tools to help you gain awareness and understanding of your mental wellness. Because this is always changing, it’s a good idea to check in with yourself often. You might come back to a quiz after mastering some new coping skills to assess your progress, or you might use a mood tracking app and review the past week before talking with your therapist. 

The benefits of digital screening tools include accessibility, privacy and convenience. Many of them are free to use. You can access them on a phone, tablet or laptop wherever you have an internet connection. If you’re worried about someone seeing your results, you can easily use incognito mode, close out of the tab or the app and delete your browsing history.

Try using these six digital tools to monitor your mental health and inform your search for treatment:

• Lightfully mental health quizzes 

We’ve created several quizzes you can take to see how your symptoms align with common mental health conditions. If you’re concerned about a specific pattern in your thoughts, moods or behavior, an online quiz can help you gain some quick insight.

Here are some mental health quizzes you can take right now:

• Major depressive disorder (MDD)
• Prolonged grief disorder (complicated grief)
• Bipolar disorder
• Panic disorder
• Histrionic personality disorder

• Mental Health America’s Online Screening Tools 

Mental Health America has online assessments for a wide range of conditions and symptoms. Some of their quizzes are available in Spanish as well as English. They also have resources and DIY guides sorted by condition.

• Mood tracking apps 

Mood tracking apps make it easy to check in with how you’re feeling and see big-picture trends in your moods and symptoms. The simple act of tracking your mood can help you get more in tune with your emotions and develop mindful self-awareness. Your data can be a helpful conversation starter for psychotherapy sessions.

Check out these free mood tracking apps:

• Moodfit
• Daylio
• Mood tracker apps

• Crisis identification tools 

Lightfully and organizations like the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and Crisis Text Line have online guides that can help you determine if you’re having a mental health crisis. 

AFSP and the Crisis Text Line can also connect you with live crisis support counselors via hotline or text messaging. If you or a loved one are in crisis right now, call or text 988, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, for immediate support.

Use these guides to identify if you or a loved one are having a mental health crisis:

• 9 Signs of a Mental Health Crisis to Look For
• What does it feel like to experience suicidality?
• Do I Need Inpatient Mental Health Treatment?
• Suicide risk factors and warning signs

• Therapist-connected screening platforms 

Therapists and clinical care teams may use digital assessment tools to give your care providers an overview of your symptoms before scheduled sessions. Your assessment results provide a starting point for treatment conversations, and they can reveal insights about your progress as you go.

• Professional mental health assessment scheduling 

If you’re ready for a professional assessment, you may use digital tools as part of the scheduling and onboarding process. At Lightfully, we use digital tools to gather information from prospective clients. Use our contact form to get in touch with our Admissions Concierge Team and schedule your professional assessment.

Get a free professional mental health screening from a Lightfully clinician

To narrow down the digital tools that will be most helpful for you, keep in mind what your mental health goals are as well as your concerns. If you’re trying to decide what level of treatment you need or what you should look for in a provider, a quiz may be a good starting point. 

If you want to define your mental wellness goals, you might take a quiz and then look through some DIY guides for ideas. If you want to gain insight into your patterns and how your mental health is changing over time, try a mood tracking app.

Digital tools have helped mental health professionals streamline the assessment process. However, they shouldn’t be used as a stand-alone solution.

Regular mental health screenings can help identify challenges early, making treatment more effective and recovery smoother for those struggling with mental health concerns. Clinicians typically perform verbal assessments via phone, telehealth or in person. 

Are you ready to schedule a professional mental health assessment and start planning your treatment goals? We can help. Reach out to our Admissions Concierge Team today.