Who completes which
Choosing between them
Start broad if the presentation is unclear. The SDQ covers emotional symptoms, conduct, hyperactivity, peer problems and prosocial behaviour in twenty-five items. It will tell you which direction to look before you commit to a narrower instrument. Go narrow when you already know the question. RCADS if the referral is anxiety or mood and you want subscale detail. SNAP-IV if attention or oppositionality is the presenting concern. Depression in a teenager is the PHQ-A, not the PHQ-9. The adolescent version has its own cutoff and its own self-harm item. Using the adult instrument on a fifteen-year-old is a validation problem, not a convenience. The ASRS is here for continuity. A client who has aged out of the SNAP-IV still needs a measure; that is the one.Getting a parent-report completed
Parent-rated measures are usually sent ahead of the session rather than filled in the room — the parent may not be in the room, and if they are, the young person is watching them answer. Sending it in advance gives you both a cleaner answer and something to open the session with.The five measures
PHQ-A
Depression for 11–17, with an adolescent cutoff and a self-harm flag.
SDQ (self-report)
Goodman’s broad screen — twenty-five items across five subscales.
RCADS (parent 6–18)
Parent-rated anxiety and depression, mapped to six disorders, read as T-scores.
SNAP-IV
Parent-rated ADHD and ODD. Public domain — no licence and no fee.
ASRS v1.1
Adult ADHD screener, for clients who have aged out of the SNAP-IV.
Related articles
What's in the library
All seventy-one templates, and how they are organised.
Sending one ahead of a session
Finding a template and getting it to a client before you meet.