Depression screenings available on campus

As more than two-thirds of the 17.5 million Americans suffering from some form of depression fail to seek treatment for it, according to information collected by the Washington University School of Medicine, the IU Health Center is here to help.\nToday is National Depression Awareness Day, and to recognize the date, the Health Center's Counseling and Psychological Services department has scheduled free and anonymous depression screenings on campus. Booths for screening will be located in the School of Education's atrium, Woodburn Hall and in the Foster-Gresham food court. Each table will be staffed with several professional staff members from the Health Center to conduct screenings, answer questions and give advice.\n"A big part of our objective is education," said Carolyn Lee, a psychologist who will be heading the table located at Woodburn. "We give feedback to everyone who is screened here."\nAs in previous years when the Health Center has conducted the screenings, Lee plans to give interested students a short quiz testing their knowledge about depression and then offer the screening. CAPS uses the HANDS depression screening test, a quick scale that tests for the likelihood of depression, to assess whether students should seek further counseling. If the scale indicates a high likelihood for depression, the student is then recommended to plan a future visit to the Health Center.\nMore than half of the students Lee typically tests are not recommended to pursue counseling, she said. However, putting the information out on campus has been invaluable to the Health Center in past screenings.\n"We know from national studies that a high percentage of people experience depression during young adulthood," said Nancy Stockton, director of CAPS. "Students are usually grateful to get information about it in a user -friendly area."\nTo add to the "user-friendly" attitude of the informational tables, depression pamphlets are available for the taking, and all who take the quiz to test their knowledge of depression can enter in a drawing for a free massage, courtesy of the Health Center. \nThough Stockton notes that passing students are usually in a hurry, she believes that Depression Screening Day tends to identify more students than the other health-related screenings offered throughout the year -- which include tests for anxiety, stress and several others.\n-- Contact health and science editor Kelly Phillips at kephilli@indiana.edu