The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Index

Where the Beck Depression Inventory is quick, easy, and free, but also susceptible to misinformation and deception on the part of the person taking it, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (or MMPI) is in many ways the exact opposite. With several hundred questions, the MMPI leaves no stone unturned in its search for the true state of one’s mental health, and it can be useful for identifying a wide variety of mental health disorders, not just depression! It’s also really good at finding out when the test-taker is lying about their symptoms—in a 2023 study, Dr. Tilbe Ambrose (et. al.) found that the MMPI could distinguish between people who had a disorder and people who were coached to fake the disorder with over 90% accuracy!

Unfortunately, the MMPI can take several hours to complete, and it isn’t free, so it’s not a tool you can easily use at home. A therapist or other mental health professional might recommend it and make the arrangements for it, but for better or for worse, this useful test is mostly available in clinical settings.

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