A lpha Pi Chi, Harding's chapter of the international honor society for professional counselors, Chi Sigma Iota, offered free depression screenings on campus for any student who wanted to know more about their own mental health. The screenings were held on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2018, during National Mental Illness Awareness week. Lillian Chen, clinical mental health counseling graduate student and president ofAlpha Pi Chi, said the screenings helped members of the organization practice the counseling skills they learned while raising awareness and providing resources to help students in need. "Thisis not something that's going to give you a label and say, 'you have depression,"' Chen said. "It's simply a way of helping you to understand where you are emotionally and your mental state." Dr. Marc Fager, assistant professor of education, director of field placement for professional counseling and chapter faculty advisor for Alpha Pi Chi, said because of the negative stigma surrounding mental health issues, students were often reluctant to seek the help they needed. Fager said depression could manifest in different ways depending on the person, and it was not always externally obvious, so screenings were important to learn more about a person's mental state and if needed, to point them towards help. "To be able to have a point of contact can be an enormous thing for somebody dealing with depression," Fager said. "But then also being able to connect them to other resources like a counselor, a mental health professional --- it can change [their] whole outlook and improve their own mental health." Morgan Harville, clinical mental health counseling graduate student and Alpha Pi Chi secretary, said college could be a stressful and vulnerable time due to academic, individual and social pressures. Harville said Alpha Pi Chi gave her an opportunity to practice her professional counseling skills while helping ocher people and educating communities about mental health issues. "Counseling can benefit everybody," Harville said. "It's just important, because if you're not aware, you don't know what your resources are, [and] you don't know how to get help. It's something that's a mystery, and so we're trying to cake the mystery out of it." Chen explained that Chi Sigma Iota sought to improve communities by educating and bringing awareness to mental health and mental health issues. Alpha Pi Chi closely followed the mission of the international society and offered depression screenings beginning in 2013, and hosted other events with the hope of bringing light to people at Harding and in the Searcy community who struggled with depression or other mental illnesses. "Being a part of this group that can help to advocate for mental health --- that's one of the benefits that I'm seeing," Chen said. "And being able to be a part of it is something that I really, really enjoy." story by Sarah Brister Graduate student Tyler White participates in Alpha Pi Chi activities as a part ofhis pursuit ofa master's degree in clinical mental health counseling on Dec. 4, 2018. The organization found ways for graduate students to practice skills learned in the classroom. I photo by Sterling McMichael Clinical mental health counseling graduate student Morgan Harville serves as secretary for Alpha Pi Chi on Dec. 4, 20I 8. The organization provided depression screenings as a service available to the entire student body. I photo by Sterling McMichael 271 I HEALTH SCIENCE
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