Learn more about trauma & PTSD
Explore Wayside’s in-depth guide to trauma, PTSD, common responses, overlapping concerns, and treatment.
Read the Trauma & PTSD Resource →Trauma & PTSD Check-In
A brief check-in after trauma.
This check-in uses the Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5), a brief screening tool developed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD.
It is designed to identify whether trauma-related experiences may warrant further assessment. It does not diagnose PTSD.
5 yes/no symptom questions
About 2 minutes
No account or email required
Before you begin
The PC-PTSD-5 begins by asking whether you have ever experienced an unusually frightening, horrible, or traumatic event. You will not be asked to describe what happened.
If you answer yes, you will be asked five questions about experiences during the past month. If you answer no, the screening ends there, as specified by the instrument.
Your individual answers stay on this page in your browser. They are used only to calculate the result you see here and are not sent to or stored by Wayside.
You can stop at any time. If answering trauma-related questions becomes distressing, you do not need to continue.
Before the symptom questions
Sometimes things happen to people that are unusually or especially frightening, horrible, or traumatic.
Examples can include a serious accident or fire; physical or sexual assault or abuse; an earthquake or flood; war; seeing someone killed or seriously injured; or having a loved one die through homicide or suicide.
Have you ever experienced this kind of event?
In the past month, have you...
Your answers are used only in this browser to calculate the result shown to you. Wayside does not receive or store them.
Your Results
Here’s what your responses suggest.
Your PC-PTSD-5 score
0 of 5
What this means
Important to remember
The PC-PTSD-5 is a screening tool, not a diagnostic evaluation. A positive screen indicates that further assessment may be useful; it does not establish that you have PTSD. A diagnosis requires a broader assessment of trauma exposure, symptoms, duration, functioning, and other possible explanations.
Context matters
What this result doesn’t tell us
Trauma-related symptoms can overlap with other experiences and conditions. A brief screen cannot determine why a symptom is present, how it developed, or whether PTSD best explains it.
- Acute or ongoing stress
- Anxiety or panic
- Depression or grief
- Sleep disruption
- Substance use or recovery
- Relationship or environmental stress
- Medical or physical health concerns
- Other trauma-related responses
The PC-PTSD-5 also does not measure symptom severity. Its score is simply the number of “yes” responses. Research has found that useful cut-points can vary by population and screening purpose, which is another reason results should be interpreted in context.
“You do not have to tell the whole story before you are ready. Understanding can begin with what you are noticing now.”
Next steps
What would you like to do next?
Need immediate support? If you are in crisis, experiencing a mental health emergency, or concerned about your immediate safety, call or text 988. If there is an immediate or life-threatening emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. Wayside Mental Health does not provide emergency or crisis response services.
The PC-PTSD-5 was developed by staff at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD and is in the public domain and not copyrighted. The VA describes it as a 5-item screen designed to identify individuals with probable PTSD and recommends further assessment after a positive screen. This Wayside implementation is educational and does not establish a diagnosis.
Your Results
The symptom questions stop here.
Your PC-PTSD-5 score
0 of 5
Screen complete
You did not endorse the trauma-exposure starting question.
Under the standard PC-PTSD-5 instructions, the screening is complete at this point and the five symptom questions are not administered.
What this means
This result does not mean that stress, grief, difficult experiences, or other symptoms are unimportant. It only means that, based on your response to the PC-PTSD-5 starting question, this particular PTSD screen does not continue.
Important to remember
A screening tool answers a narrow question. If something is affecting your wellbeing or daily functioning, you can still explore it with a qualified professional even when a particular screen does not apply.
Next steps
You can still explore what you are experiencing.
The PC-PTSD-5 standard instructions assign a score of 0 and stop the screen when the trauma-exposure starting question is answered “no.” This screening is educational and is not a diagnosis.