Friday, August 24, 2007

Depression screening and a note about next week

I had a request for "as much information as I could provide" on women and depression. Next week I'll be doing a 5-part series on recent research on depression, including some new findings on treatment.

If you have requests for future topics, please feel free to send them to me at leighann [at] uky [dot] edu. Meantime, here's an online depression screening tool sponsored by the Department of Psychiatry at New York University's School of Medicine. If you have had a history of depression, or think you might be prone to a depressed mood, you may want to periodically check in with yourself using this tool. It may give you an idea of whether you have symptoms that warrant seeking help from a mental health professional.

If you decide to use this tool, please note the disclaimer on its use, taken from the NYU website [ODST=Online Depression Screening Test]:

"ODST is a preliminary screening test for depressive symptoms that does not replace in any way a formal psychiatric evaluation. It is designed to give a preliminary idea about the presence of mild to moderate depressive symptoms that indicate the need for an evaluation by a psychiatrist."

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