A fully executed license is required for use of the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) in any language. To license the SDS directly from Dr. Sheehan, the author and copyright holder, you will need complete his license agreement. Click here to learn more about the SDS or to download a License for use.

Dr. Sheehan only provides consultation, guidance on regulatory agency questions, and training to those who license the SDS directly from him. Contact Dr. Sheehan at davidVsheehan@gmail.com for additional information. If you do not see a QR code on the SDS you are using linking back to this website then you did not get the SDS from the author and Copyright Holder.  Dr. David V. Sheehan is the Copyright Holder, Trademark Holder, and author of the SDS in all languages.  This copyright for the SDS has been registered with the US Copyright Office.

The cost of licensing the SDS is $4 USD for each use, i.e. each administration to a subject and/or each use in training.

Note: Non-profit institutions sometimes incorrectly assume that the license fee does not apply because they are “not-for-profit”. The licensing fee applies to all uses.

The license and license fee applies to all uses.

Dr. Sheehan licenses the SDS in paper format for distribution as follows: (1) in paper form for any uses, or (2) in fixed-pdf form, paper form, or both for use in clinical or academic research trials or studies.

To license the SDS please follow the instructions on the License Agreement form:

1. Use the TAB key to navigate and complete  all fields highlighted in yellow.  Please note that some of the fields on page 1 and in Appendix 1 have drop down menus with Select options using a vertical arrow.
2. To avoid delays in approvals be sure to complete all relevant parts of Appendix 1 in full and  in accordance with the instructions: Please pay close attention to clauses 5a, 5b, and 5c in the license agreement.
3. For use of the SDS in a research study, please complete Section A in Appendix 1. For use of the SDS in a non-research clinical setting, please complete Section B in Appendix 1.
4. We do not grant unlimited or open-ended licenses, but only licenses for a specified number of administrations for a specified study or setting. The numbers requested should align with those identified in your identified research study on www.clinicaltrials.gov, EudraCT, and other like government clinical trial sites as well as NIH grant documents and in the protocol submitted to your Institutional Review Board (IRB).
5. Sign the completed license agreement. Please note that your signature confirms that you have followed your institution’s' contract process and that the signatory is authorized to sign on behalf of your institution.
6. Send the signed License Agreement to me, Dr. Sheehan, at davidVsheehan@gmail.com
7. I will then review, approve, and countersign the license agreement and return it to you with the related invoice, and a clean copy of the most current approved version of the SDS that you request.

My payment preference is by check, but you can pay by ACH, or bank wire transfer, PayPal, or Square, if that is more convenient of you.  Please let me know your payment preference and if any special Supplier Information or Purchase Order (PO) number is needed from your side. The payment information for your preferred payment method and service fees associated with those payment methods will be included in the invoice that accompanies the signed license agreement.

Many patients suffer impairment of functioning at work, at school, in social settings or at home above and beyond their symptoms.  Insurance companies, employers, government agencies, clinicians and drug companies seeking regulatory approval want to be assured that treatment not only improves symptoms but also restores functioning. The SDS can be used:

• To assess and monitor the severity of functional impairment over time and in response to treatment in primary care as well as mental health settings.
• To identify and track disability and functional impairment as an efficacy outcome measure, adverse event and/or treatment emergent effect in clinical trials and treatment outcome studies.
• To provide documentation of disability and impairment in detailed forensic evaluations.
• To detect and describe the incidence or prevalence and severity of disability and impairment in population research including national and international epidemiology studies and community surveys.

The SDS is unique in using a discretized analog (Discan) metric that subjects with different cognitive orientations (verbal, numeric, and visual spatial) can easily follow. Some people rate numerically (”he was 6’3” tall”), others use verbal descriptors (“he was very tall”), and still others communicate by rating space visually (using their hands to point while commenting “he was this tall”). Some choose a combination of two or all three methods. For each of its functional domains (work / social / family life), the SDS allows subjects to simultaneously anchor their perceptions of their own impairment all three ways (verbally, numerically and visually-spatially). It also allows enough points of discrimination so that subjects can make fine distinctions in degrees of impairment. This format makes the SDS uniquely sensitive to efficacy signals in treatment studies. Additionally, the SDS contains two numeric measures for “days lost” and “days underproductive” that can be used to assess the impact of disability on work and productivity.

No minimum qualification is needed to administer the SDS. However, in research settings where precision is required, training in the use of the SDS is recommended. For more information about training, CLICK HERE.

Note:Dr. Sheehan only provides consultation, guidance on regulatory agency questions, and training to those who license the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS directly from him. Contact Dr. Sheehan at davidVsheehan@gmail.com for additional information.  If you do not see a QR code on the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) you are using linking back to this website, then you did not get the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) from the author and Copyright Holder.  Dr. David V. Sheehan is the Copyright Holder, Trademark Holder and author of the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) in all languages.  This copyright for the SDS has been registered with the US Copyright Office.

Yes. Dr. Sheehan’s license allows you to administer the SDS remotely as long as you complete the interview on paper as a primary source document. It is up to your protocol to determine how appropriate remote administration is for your patient population. For best results, Dr. Sheehan’s recommendation is to conduct the interview using video, such as Zoom or Skype, rather than phone. The SDS can be rated by patient or clinician. Because of this flexibility it is useful for inpatients as well as outpatients and can also be used in community and population studies.

If you are doing research, you should also review other applicable rules to make sure that remote administration is acceptable to any agency, such as the FDA, who may have oversight of your research.

The standard version of the SDS for adults meets most needs, most of the time in clinical and research settings. The pediatric version (SDS-P) is useful for children since it can be parent or clinician rated for children over the age of 6-11. We recommend the adolescent version (SDS-A) for adolescents age 12-17 since it can be either self-rated or clinician rated.

Yes. Please CLICK HERE for a watermarked preview copy for review only or contact Dr. Sheehan at davidVsheehan@gmail.com.

Requests to access existing non-English translations or for any new translations should be submitted through MAPI Research Trust’s ePROVIDE COA platform at

https://eprovide.mapi-trust.org/ using the following process:

1. Go to Submit a request
2. If you haven't registered yet, you'll be asked to sign up for free
3. Complete the request form. Please attach a copy of the signed and fully executed license agreement signed by Dr. David V Sheehan.

A fully executed license is required for use of the Sheehan-Suicidality Tracking Scale (S-STS) in any language. To license the S-STS directly from Dr. Sheehan, the author and copyright holder, you will need complete his license agreement. Click here to learn more about the S-STS or to download a License for use.

Dr. Sheehan only provides consultation, guidance on regulatory agency questions, and training to those who license the S-STS directly from him. Contact Dr. Sheehan at davidVsheehan@gmail.com for additional information. If you do not see a QR code on the S-STS you are using linking back to this website then you did not get the SDS from the author and Copyright Holder.  Dr. David V. Sheehan is the Copyright Holder, Trademark Holder, and author of the S-STS in all languages.  This copyright for the S-STS has been registered with the US Copyright Office.

CLICK HERE for more information about Sheehan Scales.

The cost of licensing the S-STS is $4 USD for each use, i.e. each administration to a subject and/or each use in training.

Note: Non-profit institutions sometimes incorrectly assume that the license fee does not apply because they are “not-for-profit”. The licensing fee applies to all uses.

The license and license fee applies to all uses.

Dr. Sheehan licenses the S-STS in paper format for distribution as follows: (1) in paper form for any uses, or (2) in fixed-pdf form, paper form, or both for use in clinical or academic research trials or studies.

How to License the S-STS

1. Please use tab to navigate and complete the attached license agreement and complete all sections highlighted in yellow.  To avoid delays in approvals please ensure that all relevant parts of Appendix 1 are completed in full and in accordance with the instructions: Please pay close attention to clauses 5b and 5c in the license agreement. 
2. If you are requesting permission to use the S-STS in a research study, please complete segment A in Appendix 1.  If you wish to use the S-STS in a non-research clinical setting, please complete segment B in Appendix 1.
3. We do not grant unlimited or open-ended licenses, but only licenses for a specified number of administrations for a specified study or situation. These numbers should align with those identified in your studies on www.clinicaltrials.gov , EudraCT, and other like government clinical trial sites as well as NIH grant documents and in the protocol submitted to your Institutional Review Board (IRB).
4. Sign the completed license agreement if you have no other specific changes of the template, other than its completion with your study specific and institution information in Appendix 1 and personalizing it to your company / institution / use plan. Please confirm that you have followed your institutions contract process and that the signature on this contract is authorized to sign on behalf of your institution.  
5. Convert the signed agreement into an into an unlocked pdf document that I can sign in Adobe Acrobat Pro.  I do not accept locked pdfs in DocuSign or in any other proprietary signature software.
6. Send this signed pdf to me at davidVsheehan@gmail.com
7. I will then review, approve, and countersign your completed license agreement and return this to you immediately with the respective invoice if applicable, and a clean copy of the most current approved version of the S-STS.

My payment preference is by check, but you can pay by ACH, or bank wire transfer, PayPal, or Square, if that is more convenient of you.  Please let me know your payment preference and if any special Supplier Information or Purchase Order (PO) number is needed from your side. The payment information for your preferred payment method and service fees associated with those payment methods will be included in the invoice that accompanies the signed license agreement.

The S-STS can be used as a systematic means:

• To assess and monitor suicidality in primary care as well as mental health settings (inpatient and outpatient).
• To identify and track suicidality as an efficacy outcome measure, adverse event, and/or treatment emergent effect in clinical trials and treatment outcome studies.
• To provide detailed documentation of suicidality in forensic evaluations.
• To detect and describe the incidence or prevalence and severity of suicidality in population research including national and international epidemiology studies and community surveys.

The S-STS is unique in the following ways:

• The S-STS asks about a broader range of suicidality phenomena than other suicidality scales. For example, beyond suicidal ideation and behavior, it has questions about suicidal impulses, suicidal hallucinations, delusional suicidality, and suicidal dreams.
• Unlike its most used alternative, the C-SSRS, which uses a binary (Yes/No) response format, confirming the presence or absence of suicidality, the S-STS uses a numeric Likert format. A benefit of this format is that it allows raters to make fine distinctions in the seriousness of suicidality symptoms and track changes over time. Also, item and cluster scores can be graphed quantitatively.
• The S-STS can be mapped closely to FDA classification categories of suicidality.
• In clinical trials the S-STS has been found to be uniquely sensitive in detecting drug-placebo differences and treatment effects.
• To our knowledge, the S-STS is the only suicidal assessment scale that has been linguistically validated for children and adolescents.

This is to ensure that the S-STS is administered and interpreted correctly and to reduce the risk of false positives or false negatives. We leave the final decision of selection and credentialing of raters up to the local sites.

Note: Dr. Sheehan only provides consultation, guidance on regulatory agency questions, and training to those who license the Sheehan-Suicidality Tracking Scale (S-STS) directly from him. Contact Dr. Sheehan at davidVsheehan@gmail.com for additional information.  If you do not see a QR code on the Sheehan-Suicidality Tracking Scale (S-STS) you are using linking back to this website, then you did not get the Sheehan-Suicidality Tracking Scale (S-STS) from the author and Copyright Holder.  Dr. David V. Sheehan is the Copyright Holder, Trademark Holder and author of the Sheehan-Suicidality Tracking Scale (S-STS) in all languages.  This copyright for the S-STS has been registered with the US Copyright Office.

Yes. Dr. Sheehan’s license allows you to administer the S-STS remotely as long as you complete the S-STS on paper as a primary source document. It is up to your protocol to determine how appropriate remote administration is for your patient population. Be sure to review HIPAA and GDPR privacy rules. If you are doing research, you should also review other applicable rules to make sure that remote administration is acceptable to any agency, such as the FDA, who may have oversight of your research.

The standard version of the S-STS for adults meets most needs, most of the time in clinical and research settings.

For children and adolescents, the S-STS is available in 3 age-related, linguistically validated versions (for 6 to 8 year olds, 9 to 10 year olds, and 13 to 17 year olds). The pediatric version (S-STS-P) is useful for all three age groups since it can be parent or clinician rated. We recommend the adolescent version (S-STS-A) for adolescents aged 13-17 since it can be either self-rated by the adolescent or clinician rated.

The average time to administer the S-STS is 8.4 minutes. This administration time is comparable to that for the C-SSRS (8.1 minutes) and shorter than that that for the ISST-Plus (14.5 min).

The S-STS can be patient or clinician rated but should always be clinician reviewed, preferably by someone with clinical mental health experience and training. To ensure that the S-STS is rated and interpreted correctly and to reduce the risk of false positives or false negatives, we recommend training in the use of the S-STS. For more information about training, CLICK HERE.

Yes. Please CLICK HERE for a watermarked preview copy for review only or contact Dr. Sheehan at davidVsheehan@gmail.com.

CLICK HERE for more information about Sheehan Scales.

Requests to access existing non-English translations or for any new translations should be submitted through MAPI Research Trust’s ePROVIDE COA platform at

https://eprovide.mapi-trust.org/ using the following process:

1. Go to Submit a request
2. If you haven't registered yet, you'll be asked to sign up for free
3. Complete the request form. Please attach a copy of the signed and fully executed license agreement signed by Dr. David V Sheehan.