UMass Amherst to Offer Free Community Screenings for Anxiety and Depression on May 9

May 1, 2008

Contact:

Christopher Overtree 413/545-0041

AMHERST, Mass. – The Psychological Services Center (PSC) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst will offer free community screenings for anxiety and depression on Friday, May 9 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Tobin Hall, Suite 123. The screenings are part of National Anxiety and Depression Awareness Week (May 4-10) and are open to the public and the campus community.

Christopher Overtree, PSC director, says anxiety and depressive disorders are among the most common of all mental illnesses, afflicting more than 19 million Americans each year. They can be severe, chronic, extremely impairing, and can also have a devastating impact on family members. While the symptoms of depressive and anxiety disorders can be severe, considerable research has documented the effectiveness of treatment using psychotherapy, medications, or a combination of both.

Anxiety symptoms include intense fears about specific items or situations (phobias); unexplained panic attacks (panic disorder); anxiety in social/performance situations (social phobia); compulsive behavior related to obsessive thoughts (obsessive-compulsive disorder); anxiety associated with witnessing or experiencing a life-threatening trauma (post-traumatic stress disorder) and more general free-floating anxiety (generalized anxiety disorder). Common depressive symptoms include extreme sadness; decreases in pleasure, agitation or irritability; feelings of hopelessness, and thoughts of death or suicide. In some cases, individuals can experience cycling mood symptoms in which they fluctuate between depression and mania, a state associated with extreme happiness, grandiosity, extreme irritability, or even psychotic symptoms.

The PSC is the teaching clinic for the clinical psychology program at UMass Amherst, which offers low-fee psychotherapy and psychological assessment services to members of the local and campus communities.

On May 9, screening participants can meet with a clinician to discuss symptoms of and treatments for anxiety and depression, as well as receive referrals to local treatment providers. All individuals will be taken in on a walk-in basis, and participants will receive free validated parking for the Campus Center parking garage or parking in one of the PSC’s reserved spots at Tobin Hall.

For more information visit www.umass.edu/psc.

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