“The goal of screening is to differentiate between sadness and depression,” said Dr. Nishendu Vasavada, corporate medical director of UBH Denton. “Everyone experiences sadness at times, but when those feelings last too long and begin to adversely affect an individual’s work and home lives, it could be depression.”
In the screenings, UBH will work with visitors to determine whether they are experiencing depression symptoms. Among these symptoms are suicidal thoughts, lack of interest in various activities, sleeping troubles, lack of appetite or overeating, trouble concentrating, and tiredness or lack of energy.
Based on the results of the initial screening, a visitor may be referred to UBH Denton specialists or offered guidance in seeking help from other north Texas mental health service providers.
While there are many online websites that provide checklists about the key signs of depression, these self-screenings have limited usefulness, Dr. Vasavada said. He explained, “There are different ways to ‘score’ an individual’s responses to basic questions about depression.
That is the value of a trained screener, who can see beyond the typical responses and determine whether a person should be further examined for depression.”
UBH Denton points out that clinical depression affects one out of four women and one in 10 men at some point during their lives, yet two-thirds of people experiencing depression fail to seek treatment for it.
The vast majority of clinical depression sufferers can be successfully treated with medication, therapy, or a combination of the two.
“Depression screening is simply the first step in getting help and beginning the journey back to a happier life,” Dr. Vasavada said.
University Behavioral Health, part of Ascend Health Corporation, has facilities in Denton and Carrollton. It features specialty programs such as Breaking Free with Herschel Walker that treats patients with co-occurring issues such as depression and substance abuse; Freedom Care, serving active duty military members, as well as veterans, retirees, and their families; Exclusively Women, which helps women heal together and develop healthy lifestyles and coping skills to manage their emotional lives; and Minirth Adult Services, a faith-based program that merges professional counseling and Biblical principles.
University Behavioral Health serves these segments as well as a broad range of other patients, from children as young as 5 through adolescents, adults, and mature adults. In all its programs, University Behavioral Health relies on evidence-based mental health care, in which evidence gained from scientific methods is applied to medical decision making in order to deliver the most positive outcomes.
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