The GAD-7 asks seven questions about worry and tension over the last two weeks. Its total, from 0 to 21, screens for anxiety and shows how severe it is. Answer the questions to score it, see what each band means and which cutoff to use, and record the result with the free template.
GAD-7 result template
FreeGAD-7 ANXIETY SCREEN Seen on: [Date and type of visit] Client or patient: [Name or record number, age] How given: [Self-completed on paper or a device, or read aloud; language and interpreter] Why given: [New concern, routine screen, intake, or check on treatment] RESULT Answers to items 1 to 7: [Each answer as 0, 1, 2, or 3, in order] GAD-7 total: [Sum out of 21] Severity: [Minimal 0-4, mild 5-9, moderate 10-14, or severe 15-21] Effect on daily life: [Answer to the difficulty question, if asked] Highest items: [Symptoms that scored 2 or 3, such as worry that will not stop] COMPARED WITH BEFORE Earlier GAD-7 totals: [Each date with its total] Direction: [Points gained or lost since the first score; meaningful change or remission if reached] ASSESSMENT What the interview found: [How long the worry has lasted, panic attacks, avoidance, trauma, sleep, physical causes checked] Other screens: [PHQ-9 total with its item 9, alcohol or substance screen] Working impression: [Diagnosis or screen result in words] NEXT STEPS Plan: [Therapy, medication, both, or monitoring; referrals] Rescreen: [When the GAD-7 will be given again] Recorded by: [Clinician name and role]
Every item as published. The total and what it means update with each answer; nothing you choose leaves this page.
Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems?
Use it for
The patient fills it in alone, on paper or a screen, or you read it aloud. It takes about two minutes and asks about the last two weeks.
Avoid: Explaining what an item “really means” while the patient answers. Paraphrasing shifts the answers and the score.
Each item scores 0 to 3 by how often it happened; the seven together make a total from 0 to 21.
Avoid: Adding the difficulty answer into the total. The range stops at 21.
Cutpoints at 5, 10, and 15 mark mild, moderate, and severe anxiety. The interview tells you which disorder, if any.
Avoid: Labeling every high score generalized anxiety disorder. Panic disorder, social anxiety, PTSD, and depression all raise it.
A total of 10 is the standard threshold. A lower line at 8 finds more people with any anxiety disorder, at the price of more false positives.
Avoid: Calling a 9 negative when the history points to panic attacks or trauma.
Score it again every few weeks during treatment to see whether the plan is working.
Each one follows the recording template. Use them to judge how much to write.
Counseling practice, first session in person, form filled in on paper in the waiting room
Answers 3, 3, 3, 2, 1, 2, 2. Total 16, severe. Difficulty: very difficult. Highest: nervousness, worry he can’t stop, and worry about many different things.
First full GAD-7. His family physician recorded a GAD-2 of 4 last month and referred him.
31-year-old man, an accountant. Constant worry for about 18 months about mistakes at work, money, and his parents’ health. Tight shoulders, lies awake an hour most nights, snaps at his partner. No panic attacks, no social avoidance, no trauma history. Five coffees a day; about 2 drinks a week. Thyroid tests normal in the summer. PHQ-9 today 8, item 9 at 0. Impression: generalized anxiety disorder.
Agreed on CBT for generalized anxiety, 12 to 16 weekly sessions, starting with a worry log and a set worry time. He’ll cut down to two coffees a day. GAD-7 at every second session. If it hasn’t fallen at least 4 points by session 6, he’ll talk to his family physician about adding medication.
Family practice, 12-week medication check, questions answered on her phone before the visit
Answers 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1. Total 6, mild. Difficulty: somewhat difficult. Nothing scored above 1.
August 11: 14. September 8: 10. November 3: 6. Down 8 points since escitalopram began, a clear improvement; not yet remission.
58-year-old woman with generalized anxiety disorder, diagnosed in August after months of worry about her husband’s heart surgery and her job. Escitalopram 10 mg for 12 weeks; mild nausea in the first two weeks, now gone. Sleeping through most nights. Still worries for an hour or so before his cardiology checkups. PHQ-9 today 3. No more alcohol than before, no sedatives.
Continue escitalopram 10 mg for at least 6 to 12 months now that she’s improving. She turned down a higher dose. Offered guided self-help for the worry that’s left, and she took it. GAD-7 again in 8 weeks, or sooner if her worry builds again.
The cutoff of 10 was set for generalized anxiety disorder. People with panic disorder, social anxiety, or PTSD can score 7 or 8. Ask about panic and avoidance when the story fits.
The GAD-7 rises with any anxiety disorder, and with depression. Confirm the diagnosis in the interview, including how long the worry has lasted.
An overactive thyroid, heavy caffeine, stimulants, and alcohol withdrawal can all look like anxiety. Check for them before you treat.
The GAD-7 has no question on mood or suicide. Give the PHQ-9 too, and read its item 9 every time.
Vero Scribe records the GAD-7 result in your template from the session, with the patient’s consent, or from your dictation: the answers, the band, the change since last time, and the plan. You review and edit every line, then copy it into your record. Vero works in 60+ languages.
Score each of the seven items 0 for not at all, 1 for several days, 2 for more than half the days, and 3 for nearly every day, then add them. The total runs from 0 to 21. The difficulty question isn’t part of the total.
The bands are 0 to 4 minimal, 5 to 9 mild, 10 to 14 moderate, and 15 to 21 severe anxiety. A score of 10 or more calls for a closer look, and 15 or more usually means active treatment is needed.
10 or more is the usual cutoff. In the original study it found generalized anxiety disorder with 89% sensitivity and 82% specificity. Some services use 8 or more to catch more people with panic disorder, social anxiety, or PTSD, and accept more false positives. The diagnosis still comes from an interview.
They share authors and the same answer scale, but measure different things. The GAD-7 measures anxiety in 7 items, scored 0 to 21. The PHQ-9 measures depression in 9 items, scored 0 to 27, and asks about thoughts of self-harm. They’re often given together because the two conditions overlap.
The first two GAD-7 items, on feeling nervous and on worry that won’t stop, scored 0 to 6. A score of 3 or more is followed by the full GAD-7 and an interview.
Anyone on the care team can hand it out, and most patients complete it on their own in a couple of minutes. A clinician reads the result, talks it through with the patient, and makes any diagnosis. It was validated in adult primary care, and studies support it in teenagers too.
Yes. It’s in the public domain, and no permission is needed to reproduce, translate, or share it. The official form and its translations are on the PHQ Screeners site, and the recording template on this page is free to copy or download.
Nine questions on the last two weeks: depression screening and severity, scored 0 to 27.
Two questions on interest and mood: a quick first screen for depression, scored 0 to 6.
Up to six questions on suicidal thoughts and behavior; the highest yes sets low, moderate, or high risk.
Twenty items on the past month: PTSD screening and symptom tracking, scored 0 to 80.
Ten self-report items on the past 7 days: depression screening in pregnancy and after birth, scored 0 to 30.
The whole first session, with screening scores, risk, and the plan.
Progress on each goal, with GAD-7 and other scores over time.
Session notes and measures recorded for counselors.
Every tool, by area, with what its scores mean.
Vero records scores, findings, and plans in the templates you choose, so you review instead of type.
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