VCU Anxiety Clinic To Provide Information and Free Evaluations During National Anxiety Disorders Screening Day May 9

By Mike Porter

The Virginia Commonwealth University Anxiety Clinic will offer information and screenings on anxiety disorders, which health care professionals say affect about 40 million Americans age 18 and older every year.

The clinic will host a site for National Anxiety Disorders Screening Day on Wednesday, May 9, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Kroger store, 901 N. Lombardy St. The event is free and open to the public. 

Information will be provided about common anxiety disorders in children, adolescents and adults, and confidential screenings will be offered. Therapists from the VCU Anxiety Clinic will be on site, along with representatives from the national anxiety support group Agoraphobics Building Independent Lives, known as ABIL.

"Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental health problems in the country but also the least understood," said Michael Southam-Gerow, Ph.D., co-director of the VCU Anxiety Clinic. "Those suffering from anxiety disorders are filled with fearfulness and uncertainty and yet there is often a certain amount of shame connected to seeking treatment."

Anxiety disorders include social and other phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The Anxiety Clinic offers low-cost therapy for children, adolescents and adults. The clinic is part of VCU's Center for Psychological Services and Development, located at 612-620 N. Lombardy St.

For more information about anxiety disorders or the VCU Anxiety Clinic, call 828-8069.