Oct. 10 event at U-M Depression Center features free depression screenings & chance to volunteer for studies

U-M studies need people with and without depression or bipolar disorder

ANN ARBOR, MI – On the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 10, the University of Michigan Depression Center will offer members of the community a free opportunity to find out if they might have depression, and to volunteer for research studies.

The event, which is part of National Depression Screening Day, will take place at the Rachel Upjohn Building on the U-M Health System’s East Medical Campus, where the Center and most of U-M’s outpatient psychiatry and addiction clinics are based.

From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., the public is welcome to this free event, which will feature confidential screenings for depression with trained mental health professionals. National Depression Screening Day is a public education program, and feedback provided after a screening is informational, not diagnostic. Based on screening results, mental health professionals may recommend a more comprehensive evaluation.

Free screenings are a good way for people to find out if depression might be the cause of feelings they’ve been experiencing, including prolonged sadness, anxiety, irritability, loss of pleasure in activities, feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness, and even physical pain.

In addition to the screenings, the event will feature exhibits by U-M researchers, and information on studies that need participants. Many U-M studies need both people with depression or bipolar disorder, and healthy people without these conditions who can act as comparisons. U-M researchers are using methods such as brain imaging and genetics to find out why depression and bipolar disorder occur, and to find better ways to diagnose and treat these conditions.

The Rachel Upjohn Building is located at 4250 Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor, near the Plymouth Road exit of US 23. Free parking is available in front of the building, which can be reached by turning south on Earhart Road at the Plymouth Road intersection, and turning left into the East Medical Campus.

The building is also on the route of the UMHS Intercampus bus, which runs between the main medical campus and the east medical campus. The last bus leaves the Rachel Upjohn Building to return to the medical campus at 6:10 p.m.

For those who can’t attend the event, but want to find out if their feelings might be signs of depression, the U-M Depression Center offers a free depression screening tool on its web site, www.depressioncenter.org.

Information about mental health studies that currently need volunteers is also available via the U-M Health System’s Engage web site at www.umengage.org.

Written by Kara Gavin