Communications


Date: March 24, 2006
To: All Students
From: Dr. Russ Federman
          Director, Counseling and Psychological Services
Subject: Spring Semester Online Depression and Mental Health Screenings

If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed, even depressed, then you are not alone. According to a 2005 national survey of college students by the American College Health Association, 46 percent of the respondents reported being affected by at least one episode of clinical depression in the previous year.

Here at U.Va., approximately 1,800 students sought treatment or consultation from Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) during the 2004-05 academic year. According to Dr. Russ Federman, director of CAPS, “It is common for students to be faced with emotional or psychological difficulties during their university enrollment. It doesn’t mean you’re crazy or pathological. It does mean you’re being affected by the stresses of university life.”

This time during spring semester can be quite stressful. The pressures connected with cumulative academic work are building, while end-of-semester papers, projects and exams don’t appear to be that far off.

If you are concerned about your emotional well-being and you would like to do a confidential “mental health check-up,” you may click on the link below. This will connect you to one of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Web pages that offer several different online self-assessments: http://www.virginia.edu/studenthealth/capsonline.html

These sites allow you to anonymously take a self-assessment, which will provide you with immediate feedback on whether you might meet criteria for one of several different psychological disorders.

If you take one of the screenings and decide you would like to meet with a mental health professional and talk about the results, you are more than welcome to contact CAPS at 243-5150 and ask for an initial appointment. If your concerns are more urgent, and you feel you can’t wait for a scheduled appointment, CAPS also sees students on a walk-in basis Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Additionally, if you are ever faced with a psychological emergency (yours or someone you know) after 5 p.m. or on weekends and holidays, a CAPS clinician is available through the Student Health answering service at 972-7004.