As part of National Depression Screening Day, Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS) and the H.O.P.E. & Wellness Center provided students the opportunity to take a screening for depression.

The annual What’s Your Mood event took place on Oct. 11 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Forum Plaza and USU Arcade. Cherryl Berry, mental health educator, and H.O.P.E. & Wellness student interns organized and ran the  event.

“[What’s Your Mood] is an opportunity for us to conduct in-person screenings with our students for mental health promotion, prevention of depression and along with that early intervention. Through the screening we’re identifying students at some risk for diagnosable depression. Then, we are having a brief consult with them,” said Berry.

According to Berry, depression and anxiety are the most prominent mental health disorders seen in the college student population. What’s Your Mood is an opportunity to encourage students who are at risk of depression to seek help.

Two student cohorts from the School of Nursing provided assistance during What’s Your Mood.

12 upper-class nursing students assisted with the screenings. Students lined up and filled a self-administered assessment containing 10 questions. The screening was anonymous and took about five minutes to complete. Once students completed the screening, the nursing students scored students’ answers and determined if students needed to be seen by a counselor.

Students who presented high risks were paired with a counselor on-site for a brief consult and to talk about their responses and resources available to them. There was no need to see a counselor if students showed no risks.The nursing students explained that no-risk students are encouraged to go to SHCS if they are concerned with their mental health.   

The second School of Nursing student cohort shared posters with information about stress reduction, self-care and suicide prevention.

Campus and community partners, such as County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) provided students with information about resources and services on and off campus.

“[HHSA does] a big push in the community for screenings. We’re part of the bigger community-wide focus on getting people screened for depression. This is not just a singular event that we do on campus,” said Berry.

For more information about mental health services and resources, students can contact or visit Student Health and Counseling Services. Students interested in taking an Online Mental Health Screening can go to http://screening.mentalhealthscreening.org/csusm.