In honor of National Depression Screening Day, Kent State will be holding free depression screenings Thursday on the second floor of the Student Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

John Schell, psychologist for University Health Services and co-coordinator of the event, said the screenings are a way for students, faculty, staff and the general public to get educated about mental health.

“It’s a time to learn more about those mental health issues and address any questions they might have,” he said.

The screening includes an anonymous five-minute questionnaire that screens for depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Participants can then speak with a mental-health clinician about their results.

Schell said questions on the screening focus on mood and anxiety, mental health history, behaviors and a few demographic questions.

“It’s not a diagnostic test, but it gives a person the chance to reflect on behaviors that may be consistent with any of those conditions,” Schell said.

The questionnaire is scored, and participants then talk about their results with one of 10 mental-health clinicians.

“This is a great opportunity to have a brief interaction (with a mental-health clinician) and get some information about how to move forward,” said Carrie Berta, psychologist for University Health Services and co-coordinator of the event. “It’s a nice entry point.”

The symptoms for depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder vary, but some symptoms are the same across the board, Berta said. These symptoms include sadness, irritability, frustration, anger, loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, loss of enjoyment in day-to-day activities and lack of focus or concentration.

“Everyone has moments of sadness, but we’re looking for a constellation of behaviors over time where they lead to affecting a person’s mental health,” Schell said.

The Screening for Mental Health created National Depression Screening Day in 1991 as a part of Mental Illness Awareness Week, according to the organization’s website. This is the 19th consecutive year Kent State has participated in the day. Nationally, more than half a million people a year have been screened for depression since the creation of the day.

“Over the last several years, mental health and its relation to college students has become much more important. We want to ensure success here (at Kent State), both academically and professionally,” Schell said.

National Depression Screening Day at the university is co-sponsored by Kent State’s Psychological Services, the Office of Health Promotion, University Health Services and Active Minds @ KSU.

The screening is also available online year-round. To take an online depression-screening test, visit www.mentalhealthscreening.org/screening/kent.

Contact Emily Mills at [email protected].