FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct 2, 2009

MUW counseling services offers free, online mental health screenings

COLUMBUS, Miss. -- Counseling services at Mississippi University for Women is offering free, online mental health screenings for a range of common emotional conditions that often go undiagnosed and misunderstood. If you haven’t been feeling like yourself lately, a simple online screening can help you figure out what is wrong.

Mental illnesses are just that—illnesses, according to Deanna Wilkins, LPC. They are not derived from choice or character flaws. Individuals with depression or anxiety aren’t able to “pull it together” and get over how they are feeling without treatment. Mental illnesses are highly treatable, especially if detected and diagnosed early.

To access free, 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week, online screening for depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder, visit https://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/screening/loginpage.asp and enter the keyword MUW01. Once you take an online screening you will receive immediate feedback about your score and referral information for campus resources if appropriate.

Wilkins said, “We realize that students’ schedules can be pretty busy, making it difficult to fill out the screening form in person. The online program offers students the opportunity to take the screening from the comfort and privacy of their own room at any time throughout the year.”

The online screening includes questions such as:
•     Have you lost pleasure in things you used to enjoy?
•     Do you have trouble sleeping or eating?
•     Does your mood fluctuate between overly “high” to sad and hopeless?
•     Are you keyed up and anxious all the time?
•     Are you having nightmares about something that happened in the past?
•     Do you suffer from unexplained aches and pains?

The online screening is offered as part of Screening for Mental Health, Inc.’s National Depression Screening Day held this month as part of Mental Illness Awareness Week. Last year more than 80,000 students were screened at colleges across the country as part of National Depression Screening Day.