Mental Health & Wellness Station
Stations
Welcome to the Mental Health & Wellness Station, where your journey to better health begins
In response to the drastic national increase in the prevalence of mental illnesses and suicide rates, our mental health & wellness station serves to psycho-educate patients and screen them for General Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, and risk of committing suicide.
1.Screening for Generalized Anxiety Disorder:
Patients are screened for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) using the GAD-7. GAD-7 is a seven item self-report questionnaire allowing for an evaluation of the intensity of anxiety symptoms (mild, moderate, or severe) a patient may be experiencing. Patients with GAD-7 scores greater than or equal to “10” are referred to further free-of-charge psychiatric services in the Philadelphia area.
2.Screening for Major Depressive Disorder:
Patients are then screened for Major Depressive Disorder using the Patient Health
Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) screening tool. PHQ-9 is a nine item self-administration tool that has shown consistency in the assessment of the severity of depression and/or depression symptoms a patient may be experiencing. Patients with PHQ-9 scores greater than or equal to “10” are referred to further free-of-charge psychiatric services in the Philadelphia area.
3.Suicide Risk Assessment:
Patients with either a PHQ-9 score higher than “20” or a score of “1” or higher on the ninth question pertaining to suicidal ideations may opt for a suicide risk assessment using the Columbia-Suicide Risk Severity Scale (C-SSRS). The C-SSRS has shown consistency in evaluating a patient’s severity and intensity of suicidal ideations; it also allows for the assessment of both suicidal behavior and lethality of previous suicide attempts. A protocol is in place to connect patients with serious suicidal ideations to immediate local crisis intervention
services.
4.Psychoeducation:
All patients are offered Psychoeducation materials endorsed by the National Institute of Mental Health.