A method for determining the appropriate medication for a patient suffering from depression. A patient will take a questionnaire wherein the patient answers a number of questions with scaled responses concerning the degree to which the patient's mental state is affected by at least one or both of impaired modulation and impaired activation. Next, the patient's answers will be processed to arrive at scores for the at least one impaired modulation and impaired activation. Depending upon the patient's scores for demodulation and deactivation, at least one medication which affects the at least one impaired modulation and impaired activation is recommended.