Get a Mental Health Checkup Today

In a nationwide survey last fall by the American College Health Association, more than 30 percent of students reported feeling “so depressed that it was difficult to function.” Photo by Flickr contributor Lloyd Morgan

You go to the doctor every year to check your blood pressure and the dentist to get your teeth cleaned. But when was the last time you had a mental health checkup?

Today is National Depression Screening Day, an annual event that educates people about mental health and connects them with support services, if needed. To mark the occasion, free, confidential depression screenings will be offered at four locations on the Charles River and Medical Campuses. The screenings, which take about three minutes to complete, are open to all BU students, faculty, and staff, and organizers urge everyone, not just those with mental health concerns, to participate.

The checkup consists of a one-page anonymous questionnaire, with multiple-choice answers, covering topics such as eating and sleeping habits. A clinician will review the answers on-site and meet with the respondent to talk about next steps, which could include an appointment to see a mental health expert. All participants are given information about counseling and other services, regardless of whether they show symptoms of depression. No appointment is needed.

Representatives from Student Health Services Behavioral Medicine and Sargent College’s Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation (CPR) will staff today’s four screening sites: from noon to 3 p.m. at the George Sherman Union Link and at the Ellipse Lounge in the Yawkey Center for Student Services, from noon to 2 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. in the FitRec lobby, and from noon to 2 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. in the School of Public Health lobby on the Medical Campus.

Larry Kohn, CPR director of development, describes the event as a “checkup, from the neck up.

“We wanted to bring this event to campus so that people understand that depression happens to people easily,” he says. “A lot of times people spiral out of control, whether it’s because of a breakup, a family issue, they’re having trouble in school. We want people to see this as no different than a checkup for physical health. If there’s something wrong, there’s plenty of help available on campus.”

Campus resources include Behavioral Medicine, the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, and groups such as Actively Moving Forward at BU and Active Minds at BU.

In a nationwide survey last fall by the American College Health Association, more than 30 percent of students reported feeling “so depressed that it was difficult to function.” The Healthy Minds Study, an annual national online survey of college students by the University of Michigan, revealed that 20 percent of Boston University students screened positive for depression or anxiety in 2012, the last time the survey was conducted at BU.

“There has been a great increase in the utilization of behavioral health services across college campuses,” says Carrie Landa, a psychiatrist and director of Behavioral Medicine at Student Health Services. Consistent with that trend, Landa says, her office has seen a dramatic increase in the last month in the number of students requiring medical transports to emergency rooms for psychiatric evaluation—18 have been taken to hospitals for psychiatric emergencies so far this semester, up from 10 this time last year. “It is really good to know that individuals feel they can reach out when they are feeling depressed, but it is of great concern to see how much more severely people are struggling,” Landa says.

Symptoms that may indicate a student is grappling with problems more serious than normal anxiety or stress include difficulty functioning day-to-day, disturbed sleep, changes in eating habits, thoughts of hopelessness, withdrawing from typical daily activities, or thoughts of self-harm or suicide.

With so many students coping with stress and with many cases of depression going undiagnosed, screening is critically important, says Kohn. Of the 300 or so people screened on campus last year, 39 percent showed signs of depression or anxiety, he says. In 2012, 265 people were screened, and 65 percent were referred for help.

The annual screening is an opportunity, Landa says, “to increase awareness about mental health issues, decrease stigma, and provide information about resources available.”

Earlier this month, BU became one of 55 schools that have joined the Jed & Clinton Health Matters Campus Program, which is designed to help colleges prevent the two leading causes of death in young adults—accidents (including prescription drug overdoses and alcohol poisoning) and suicide—through mental health, substance abuse, and suicide-prevention programming.

BU’s sixth annual National Depression Screening Day is today, Thursday, October 9, at three sites on the Charles River Campus and one on the Medical Campus: from noon to 3 p.m. at the George Sherman Union and at the Yawkey Center for Student Services, from noon to 2 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. at FitRec, and from noon to 2 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. at the School of Public Health, 715 Albany St.

Those interested in seeking confidential mental health counseling can contact Student Health Services Behavioral Medicine, the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, the Samaritans of Boston suicide hotline, and BU’s Faculty & Staff Assistance Office.