Healthcare professionals often conduct evaluations through interviews, questionnaires, and conversations with the patient. Specialized mental health assessments by psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychoanalysts can provide an assessment of the severity and duration of symptoms.
In addition, discussions with family members, colleagues, and friends can help uncover triggers for episodes of depression. However, this approach is primarily used to differentiate between sadness and depression caused by tangible factors. Sometimes, the root cause of depression may not be easily identifiable.