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PCL-5

PTSD Checklist for DSM-5

A free, validated screening tool for PTSD symptom severity. Your answers are scored in your browser — nothing is saved or transmitted.

About this tool

  • •The PCL-5 is a 20-item, free, validated PTSD screening tool used in clinical practice worldwide.
  • •Each item is scored 0-4 (total range 0-80). The widely-used cutoff for probable PTSD is 33 or higher.
  • •It maps directly to the DSM-5 PTSD criteria — items 1-5 are intrusion symptoms, 6-7 are avoidance, 8-14 are negative cognitions/mood, 15-20 are arousal/reactivity.
  • •A PCL-5 score is a SCREENING result, not a diagnosis. Probable PTSD per the score warrants further evaluation; only a clinician can diagnose PTSD.
  • •The tool was developed by Weathers, Litz, Keane, Palmieri, Marx, and Schnurr (2013) at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD. It is in the public domain.
  • •PCL-5 was designed around DSM-5's 2013 criteria revision. If you took an older version (PCL-C, PCL-M, PCL-S), the cutoffs and items are different — this is the current version.

Take the PCL-5

Below is a list of problems people sometimes have in response to a very stressful experience. In the past month, how much have you been bothered by each of the following?

1.Repeated, disturbing, and unwanted memories of the stressful experience?
2.Repeated, disturbing dreams of the stressful experience?
3.Suddenly feeling or acting as if the stressful experience were actually happening again (as if you were actually back there reliving it)?
4.Feeling very upset when something reminded you of the stressful experience?
5.Having strong physical reactions when something reminded you of the stressful experience (for example, heart pounding, trouble breathing, sweating)?
6.Avoiding memories, thoughts, or feelings related to the stressful experience?
7.Avoiding external reminders of the stressful experience (for example, people, places, conversations, activities, objects, or situations)?
8.Trouble remembering important parts of the stressful experience?
9.Having strong negative beliefs about yourself, other people, or the world (for example, having thoughts such as: I am bad, there is something seriously wrong with me, no one can be trusted, the world is completely dangerous)?
10.Blaming yourself or someone else for the stressful experience or what happened after it?
11.Having strong negative feelings such as fear, horror, anger, guilt, or shame?
12.Loss of interest in activities that you used to enjoy?
13.Feeling distant or cut off from other people?
14.Trouble experiencing positive feelings (for example, being unable to feel happiness or have loving feelings for people close to you)?
15.Irritable behavior, angry outbursts, or acting aggressively?
16.Taking too many risks or doing things that could cause you harm?
17.Being "superalert" or watchful or on guard?
18.Feeling jumpy or easily startled?
19.Having difficulty concentrating?
20.Trouble falling or staying asleep?

0 of 20 answered

Your answers are processed in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent to anyone — including Tovani — until you choose to.

Frequently asked

Is this a diagnosis of PTSD?

No. The PCL-5 is a screening tool — a structured way to measure trauma-related symptom severity over the past month. A score at or above 33 suggests probable PTSD and warrants further evaluation. Only a clinician can diagnose PTSD, which requires a full clinical assessment including the nature of the traumatic event, duration of symptoms, functional impact, and ruling out other conditions.

My trauma was years ago. Can I still have PTSD?

Yes. PTSD can persist for years or decades after the traumatic event, sometimes worsening rather than fading with time. The PCL-5 asks about symptoms in the past month regardless of when the trauma occurred. If you scored above the cutoff, the timing of the original event doesn't change the validity of the screening result.

Should I take this if I'm not sure I had a "real" trauma?

Take it. The DSM-5 definition of trauma is broader than most people think — it includes direct exposure to threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence, but also witnessing, learning about it happening to a loved one, or repeated indirect exposure (e.g., first responders, journalists, child welfare workers). The screening result is informative regardless of how you label the experience yourself.

My SSRIs and CBT haven't worked for my PTSD. What's next?

For treatment-resistant PTSD, options include: switching to a different SSRI/SNRI, switching therapy modalities (EMDR if you tried CBT, prolonged exposure if you tried EMDR), prazosin for trauma-related nightmares, off-label medications (some atypical antipsychotics, some anticonvulsants), and ketamine. Ketamine's NMDA/glutamate mechanism is fundamentally different from SSRIs, and there's growing evidence specifically for PTSD beyond its established role in depression.

Can ketamine help PTSD or only depression?

Ketamine has the strongest evidence base in treatment-resistant depression, but emerging evidence supports its use in PTSD too — particularly for the hyperarousal, intrusion, and negative-mood symptom clusters. The mechanism (NMDA/glutamate + neuroplasticity) is well-suited to trauma-related neural patterns. For treatment-resistant PTSD specifically, ketamine alongside trauma-focused therapy is increasingly the treatment-resistant escalation path.

References

  1. Murrough JW et al. 2013, American Journal of Psychiatry. Ketamine RCT in treatment-resistant depression including patients with comorbid PTSD symptoms — 64% response vs 28% placebo, with effects extending to trauma-related domains. PMID 23982301
  2. Sanacora G et al. 2017, JAMA Psychiatry. APA consensus statement on ketamine's role in treatment-resistant cases including PTSD-spectrum presentations beyond pure depression. PMID 28249076

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