In an effort to raise awareness of a complex issue, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, and Active Minds On Campus hosted “A Conversation About Depression and Suicide in College Students” this past Tuesday night.

According to Director of Counseling and Psychological Services Jennifer D’Andrea, the event was organized in part because September is National Suicide Awareness Month. This September also marks the one-year anniversary of the suicide of Nora Miller ’12. The event will include support from Head Wrestling Coach Drew Black and Adjunct Professor of Romance Languages and Literature Octavio Flores.

“It’s my impression that my office has never really done anything formal in the area of suicide prevention and awareness,” D’Andrea said. “I’m hoping that this is just the beginning of a more formal and comprehensive suicide prevention program because that’s one of my long term goals as [the director of CAPS].”

Director of Religious and Spiritual Life Rabbi David Leipziger Teva said that his involvement stemmed from the experiences he has had as a resource helping students deal with personal crises.

“Imagine if more of us knew the warning signs of severely depressed students and also knew the patterns of atypical behavior to look for in our friends and hall mates,” he said. “I think these are difficult but vital conversations for our campus.”

According to D’Andrea, recent data shows that there were 34,000 suicides nationwide in 2007, and suicide is the second leading cause of death amongst college-age individuals after motor vehicle accidents. She added that depression is a prevalent issue among college students.

“If you look at research, it’s estimated that for every death by suicide there are 11 attempts,” she said. “So this is a problem that this is not talked about.”

Jennifer Pollan ’13, one of the coordinators of the University’s chapter of Active Minds, the organization that advocates reducing the stigma surrounding mental health issues on college campuses, said that her own experiences with depression justify the need for greater discussion and awareness on campus.

“From my experience, [the Office of Behavior and Health Services] does not do nearly enough,” said Pollan, who took a medical leave during her sophomore year for mental health reasons. “There is no discussion about depression, which is such a pervasive issue especially at a high-achieving school such as Wesleyan–I’m hoping that this will serve to open the discussion”

D’Andrea noted that many students may find it difficult, or may not know how to approach their peers who they believe may be struggling with depression. She said that one of the goals of the event was to help facilitate such a conversation.

“If you’re concerned about a friend, what do you say?” she said. “You know, it’s very hard to talk to somebody, to say to somebody the words, ‘Are you depressed? Are you thinking about hurting yourself?’ How do you know whether or not you should even be concerned? Are you just being a worrier or are there real red flags?”

D’Andrea added that there are issues beyond depression that might lead to suicide, and that she hopes to bring those issues to light.

“There are other risk factors that you might not think of right away–things like living with chronic pain, or a history of being bullied, a history of suicide in your family,” she said. “I don’t want to minimize depression, I just want people to understand that it’s not as simple as that.”

D’Andrea said that her long-term plan of a more comprehensive suicide prevention program would include a “gatekeeper” training program. The program would train members of the campus community who have the most direct contact with students, such as ResLife staff, Public Safety, and faculty and student leaders, in basic skills of depression recognition and suicide prevention. The “Conversation” event, she said, is just the beginning.

“It’s early in the year and there are a lot of things going on, and it may be a downer in terms of a topic, so I understand it may not have a wide appeal for students,” she said. “But at the same time, it’s something that’s really important and we will be doing more. This is certainly not the end of the conversation.”