Sierra Hubbard, Staff Writer
Kennesaw State University will celebrate “Finding Hope in Depression Week” from Oct. 20 through Oct. 24 with daily activities for students on campus organized by the Counseling and Psychological Services.
“This is our attempt at doing a large-scale, outreach, prevention-based program for the campus community,” said Dr. Quaneecia Rainey, staff psychologist and Coordinator of Outreach Services. “The literature says that very few students are going to actually come into the counseling center to seek services. So the best way for us to reach the most amount of students is to really be out on campus, engaging students, doing outreach and prevention work.”
The week is full of scheduled events to help promote awareness about depression as well as the many issues that college students face. There is even some coverage about suicide.
“We don’t want to just hit them over the head with information about depression,” Rainey said. “We want to get them engaged in a fun activity but, while doing that, talk to them about warning signs and symptoms of depression and how to manage it, and really use the activity as a modeling of what you can do to help manage your stress.”
Monday will be spent playing old-school board games on the Student Center Patio to give students some time to relax, including classics like Operation, Candyland, and Jenga.
“Tuesday we’re actually partnering with the Art Education Association and so we’re going to do an art project,” Rainey said. This event will be held on the Student Center Patio from 11:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
”We’re kind of tapping into that whole art therapy world by having an art project that students participate in, have some fun, and relieve some stress.”
Wednesday is called “Owls Know” and students will have the opportunity to spend two minutes and take a free depression screening. Counselors will be available to discuss results, schedule appointments, or just talk. Stations will be set up in the Commons, at the Student Center Patio, and in the Social Sciences Lobby.
Thursday evening, a documentary video will be shown to teach students more about depression in college students and also tap into the topic of suicide. For “Owls Learn”, the movie will be screened in Room 1021 of the Social Sciences Building at 5:30 p.m.
“On Friday, we’ve partnered with Sports and Recreation to do a yoga class,” Rainey said. “So we’re going to focus on breathing and meditation through yoga on Friday.”
Dr. Rainey believes the events allow students to associate the counseling services with something good. “I think the impact is more about letting students know that we exist and, if you’ve ever have a problem or you’re ever experiencing some sort of mental health issue, now you know where to go and now you’ve hopefully had a really good experience with a counselor,” sje
She also sees the importance of creating a bond to make people feel more comfortable. “We very frequently give students our names when we make the connection with them at one of our events,” she said.
The next event on the calendar for the Counseling and Psychological Services held from Nov. 3 through Nov. 8 is Homelessness Awareness Week.