URI Counseling Center holds depression, anxiety screening

By: Chris Curtis

Posted: 10/17/08

10/17/08 - The University of Rhode Island Counseling Center yesterday held a free depression and anxiety screening in the Memorial Union gallery.

Holly Nichols, a clinical counselor with the URI Counseling Center, organized the event.

"I think [depression and anxiety] are pretty common," she said. "Students face a lot of stressors and I think sometimes that can be overwhelming for them."

According to a survey conducted by the American College Health Association, 18.9 percent of college students surveyed in Fall 2007 reported having experienced depression at some point during the past year, and 13.1 percent reported an anxiety disorder.

"I would say depression in general is a major concern across all populations, I don't think that there's any outstanding or significant need on this campus versus others," said Cory Clark, assistant director of the Counseling Center.

The screening process consisted of interested students filling out a brief questionnaire and spending 5-10 minutes reviewing their responses with a therapist.

Questions included how often students had felt hopeless about the future or had feelings of worthlessness within the past two weeks, as well as whether there had ever had a period of time when they had excessive amounts of energy or were much more interested in sex than usual.

The function of the screening was not specifically for naming mental health problems, but as a preliminary step toward assistance for those who need it, Nichols said.

"It's not meant to give a diagnosis, it's more of a screening tool to help clarify a need for treatment or additional support," Clark said.

Nichols pointed out that depression in the clinical sense differs from the term's common use.

"Clinical depression is an actual diagnosis hat has particular criteria," she said. "Someone might be in a funk, they might be having a bad day, but that's not the same as being clinically depressed."

Symptoms of clinical depression include changes in appetite and sleep patterns, a lack of motivation and crying frequently, Nichols said.

While depression is separate from anxiety, the two are closely related, Nichols said.

"They often overlap, it's very frequent that someone who is anxious is also depressed and someone who is depressed is also anxious," she said.

Generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by excessive worry, trembling, a high pulse rate and muscle tension, among other symptoms, according to a Counseling Center flier.

The event was staffed by clinicians from the center and by graduate students.

Alexis Lamb, a graduate student of clinical psychology said this was her second year doing the screening.

Lamb said the program helps to make counseling more accessible to the student population.

"I think calling up to make a therapy appointment if you're concerned about yourself can be the hardest part, and this screening is sort of a smaller step," Lamb said. "We get people who are a little bit concerned but aren't so sure they have enough problems so that they should go to the Counseling Center, so I think we're able to connect with more people through this."

The center offers counseling for a variety of issues, or may refer students to the Family Therapy Clinic or Psychological Consultation Center, both graduate training programs on campus. Students may also be referred to Health Services for medication.

The Counseling Center will be sponsoring an alcohol screening - conducted the same way as the depression screening - Oct. 28.