The Diversity Center at CSU East Bay offers students an outlet to express their secrets anonymously through a program called PostSecret, which they have participated in for the past two years.

PostSecret is a community multi-media mail project, established by Frank Warren in 2005. Participants usually create imagery and write a secret that has never been spoken onto a homemade postcard. The postcards are then mailed to Warren, and posted on the PostSecret website, books, or museum exhibits.

Activities like PostSecret give students a mirror that reflects things within themselves, such as depression, that may require counseling.

Studies show that depression is a contributing factor of low performance amongst college students and is a leading cause of college dropouts.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 40 percent of college students in the United States drop out, with most stating that depression was their reason for withdrawing.

Additionally, 1 in 4 college students have a mental illness, such as depression.

PostSecret allows participants to express their true feelings and can help students release stressors that have been ignored or denied.

PostSecret, in its initial state, was Warren’s social experiment; each week he would post “artful secrets” on his Blogspot page. Warren collected and published 2,500 secrets online within the first two years of the experiment.

“Secrets can take many forms,” said Warren in a TED talk. “They can be shocking, or silly, or soulful. They can connect us to our deepest humanity, or with people we will never meet.”

An official PostSecret Community website was launched in 2007, which provides an online discussion forum to registered users. Postsecret, according to Warren in an interview with CNN is currently is one of the most visited advertisement-free blogs in the world.

However, activities like PostSecret may evoke hazardous stressors within some participants. If stress becomes unmanageable, there are other resources on campus for students.

Patricia Walsh, counseling outreach coordinator at the Student Health and Counseling Services, says, “My hope when activities like this happen, are that resources like Counseling and Psychological Services are offered right after.”

The Diversity Center’s Event Supervisor, Allen Johnson, says they do not provide services for mental health but do help students receive those services eleswhere.

“Our job is to educate,” he said. “We direct them to Counseling and Psychological Services on campus.”

CSUEB’s Counseling and Psychological Services provide free confidential individual, couples, and group counseling. Counselors are both licensed and pre-licensed professional therapists.

“It’s really important for students to know that we are passionate about what we do,” says Walsh.

Crisis Care is a walk-in service provided to CSUEB students suffering with intense situations such as thoughts of suicide or trauma. Most students who use the crisis care services seek help with depression.

Counselors acknowledge the mental health stigma with thoughtfulness and openness to students of all backgrounds. Walsh says the counselors’ priority is the student in crisis.

Counseling and Psychological Services at CSUEB has had a larger turnout this quarter than in previous quarters. One difference over previous quarters is the physical presence of counselors in classrooms on campus.

Emails are sent to CSUEB professors of all departments asking for a ten to fifteen minute class presentation held by counselors. Professors can choose the topic covered by the counselor, such as time management.

The presentations provide an introduction to the services offered through Counseling and Psychological Services.

Many students do not know there are counseling and psychological services offered on campus; classroom presentations help to enlighten students and staff about the services and provide a physical representation of the diverse staff.

“It’s so much more complicated than depression. It starts with education,” says Walsh. “Counseling and Psychological Services Department is an ally to students, staff and faculty”.

For more information visit the Student Health Services section of the CSUEB website.