Countywide : 9 Sites to Offer Free Depression Screenings

Psychiatrists and psychologists will work for free at various locations throughout the county Thursday to help people determine whether their chronic blues could be clinical depression.

Residents can learn about this disorder at day or evening sessions at one of nine sites participating in the fourth annual National Depression Screening Day.

Mental health experts will lecture about the causes, symptoms and treatments of depression. Participants then fill out a written survey and meet with a professional to discuss treatment options.

More than 250 people kill themselves in Orange County each year, according to Dennis Greenberger, a psychologist and clinical instructor at UCI’s College of Medicine. But effective drugs and therapy can alleviate many of the symptoms that cause misery.

People who suffer from the disorder tend to have a negative viewpoint toward themselves and the world, Greenberger said.

Orange County residents can attend any of the following sessions:

* UCI Medical Center, Orange, noon and 7 p.m. (714) 456-7000.

* St. Jude Medical Center, Fullerton, 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. (714) 992-3059.

* St. Jude Youth Care Center (for children and adolescents), Fullerton, 2:30 p.m. (714) 992-3059.

* La Palma Intercommunity Hospital, La Palma, 3 and 9 p.m. (714) 563-9001.

* Huntington Beach Medical Center, noon and 5 p.m. (714) 843-5057.

* Samaritan Partial Hospitalization Program, San Clemente, 3:30 p.m. (714) 492-1048

* Yorba Hills Hospital and Mental Health Center, Yorba Linda, by appointment. (714) 993-3002.

* Laguna Hills Hospital and Mental Health Center, Laguna Beach, (714) 831-1800, Ext. 228.

* South Coast Medical Center, Laguna Beach, 1 p.m., (714) 499-7202.