Professors look for signs of depression

Creative writing is an avenue for imagination and self-expression. In light of Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui's violent and dark fictional writings, however, his professors are facing accusations that they could have prevented the massacre by realizing that something was wrong with Cho.

Now, creative writing professors on campuses nationwide are being challenged to be more active in looking for the warning signs of violence in student work.

Over his years at Virginia Tech, Cho took several creative writing classes and authored works so gruesome that, in some cases, his fellow students refused to analyze them. Though Cho's disturbing pieces alerted his professors to the fact that something was wrong, no direct action was taken to ensure that he got counseling or medical help.

Students in creative writing classes often choose to write works with violent images or concepts. While it is unclear at what point these tendencies become a cause for concern, University professors are often trained to look out for signs of depression or mental instability.

Programs to protect

University Health Services (UHS) has tried to develop these training programs over the past few years through the expansion of its mental health services.

In 2005, Princeton received a $2,500 grant from the Bringing Theory to Practice Project, which was used to develop the Princeton Depression Awareness Program (PDAP) launched later that year.

"PDAP is designed to ... [identify] students at risk for unrecognized and untreated depression, and to ensure that these students receive all appropriate support and treatment," John Kolligian, director of counseling and psychological services at UHS, said in an email.

The program trains University faculty to identify warning signs of depression in their students and to encourage students exhibiting these symptoms to seek counseling. This initiative came in response to an increased prevalence of mental disorders, especially depressive disorders, on college campuses across the country. Recent statistics indicate that over 50 percent of Princeton students have experienced depression within the last year.

PDAP has grown over the past two years into a campus-wide effort including professors, UHS and Public Safety. To date, over 400 people have been trained in the program, including RCAs, administrators, coaches and faculty members.

The training includes a series of PowerPoint and video presentations that give participants the skills needed to recognize and understand mental disorders. Participants are also told how to proceed if they suspect depression in a student.

Kolligian considers the progress of the program to be encouraging. "Counseling and Psychological Services often receives calls from faculty, deans, administrators and other university personnel about students of concern," he said.

Watching for worrisome art

Creative writing professor Edmund White, however, has never seen anything of concern in his 10 years of teaching.

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"I've never noticed it in a student and never intervened," White said in an email. "You'd think in that time I would have encountered it, especially since students often write about very personal things in their fiction. But maybe precisely because creative writing workshops obviously require a great deal of self-revelation students who are really in trouble mentally don't take our courses."

Nonetheless, professors remain vigilant and concerned about their students.

For creative writing professor Tracy Smith, there is an important distinction between the work that her students generate and pure emotional release. "I think there is a little bit more of a sense that what's being produced is art," Smith said.

Though Smith also has had no personal experience in dealing with depressed students in her classes, she said she understands the possibility. Smith also emphasized the importance of personal interaction with students. "On a certain level, once you get to know a student, you can tell when something is wrong with them. Ideally, it's not impossible to sit down and talk with them privately."

She also explained that the writing process can be a healthy means to address issues and help resolve lingering emotions. "A workshop is an intimate space, and you get to know people's concerns really quickly, and that fosters a sense of trust that transcends the workshop," Smith said.

If she ever encountered a case where a student's writings gave her cause for concern, Smith said she would "probably want to sit down and talk to the student and find out what the trigger might have been and what some opportunities for resolution might be."

Similar issues have been raised with the professors of visual arts classes, where the creativity inherent in the subject encourages the same kind of self-expression.

Visual arts program director Eve Aschheim has had some experience with students exhibiting emotional issues. "What I've experienced is that sometimes you can see in the art that a student has emotional problems. What I've done is try to talk to the student or sometimes ask them to go to counseling," Aschheim said.

She added that "just because you write or paint those kinds of things doesn't mean that you are going to act on those feelings. I don't think the link is that clear."

She also noted that art can be a healthy means to resolve mental issues. "I think sometimes the work serves to release the emotions and sometimes it helps to serve the student to understand their situation, and that can contribute to some kind of resolution."

Aschheim said she believes that Princeton students suffer from less severe emotional disorders than the alienation that Cho suffered. "I don't think we get that kind of extreme," she said.