Have you ever wondered if another person is thinking the same thing as you are? Active Minds, which meets on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. in the Intercultural Center, seeks to learn about and advocate for mental health awareness. Its goal is to make students and staff alike more aware of mental health issues, to diminish negative connotations associated with mental health disorders and to supply information and resources to the student body.

The club is one of 229 chapters of a national organization present on college campuses all over the United States. The Brandeis chapter was founded five years ago by Michelle Schlesinger '08 and the organization has existed for eight years on an international level.

Active Minds has approximately 10 to 15 members in the club, and about five or six members attend the meetings every week. The club serves to report facts about mental health in order to increase awareness about mental health issues.

For example, according the organization's Web site, people from 18 to 24 have the highest occurrence of diagnosable forms of mental illness at 27 percent, and suicide is the third leading cause of death among people from 18 to 24 as well as the second leading cause of death for college students. Additionally, a 2000 study by the American College Health Association in Baltimore, called the National College Health Assessment, showed that 10 percent of all the students who had been surveyed were diagnosed with depression and endured mental health problems.

As I've observed the club on those Thursday nights in the ICC lounge, The club members are friendly, warm and work well together. Sitting around at the meeting, all of the members smile often and support each other's ideas. It is a very relaxed atmosphere. Most of the members sit in comfortable cushioned chairs and couches in a circle, where the atmosphere allows for anyone to speak his or her mind.

The club president, Joanne Qiao '12, exemplifies the warmth that Active Minds exudes. A smart, open person, Qiao is full of ideas for the club such as showing documentaries to expose Brandeis students to mental health awareness, and she encourages all club members to be a part of the decision-making process. She is also on the Student Advisory Committee for Active Minds, which involves an application process. The SAC helps plan the annual conference of all chapters and helps stimulate discussion among other chapters in the area, according to Qiao.

During an interview after the meeting, Qiao, who sports bright pink nail polish and always has a smile on her face, described what makes the club unique for her.

"One thing that's special about Active Minds is that it covers a wide range of topics, from opening the conversation about serious mental illnesses to how to relieve stress," Qiao said. The club is not just about mental illness-it's about mental health, she says.

However, as Qiao described one of the main reasons she is a firm believer in the club's mission, her face suddenly saddened. Last year, her close friend committed suicide.

"She was, like, my really good friend throughout most of high school, and it's just seeing her struggle and not really being able to talk about it, that was really inspiring."

In response to her friend's suicide, she decided to help increase mental health awareness and tried to start a club with that purpose in high school.

However, as she says, "The administration didn't really want to deal with it. They thought it was too heavy for a high school to deal with."

Of her friend, Qiao added, "She talked about [her mental health problems] some, but there wasn't really a whole lot I could do, and she was somewhat resistant to treatment. She had been to multiple treatment centers and stuff."

The club also works as a liaison between the student body and the Counseling Center.

The club is "there to let students know if by working with them, by our dorm raps and stuff, we can establish a better connection with them," Qiao said.

Dr. Debra Poaster, the medical director of the Brandeis Health Center, commented that the staff at the center consider, "the mental health aspects of physical illness," and "the presentations of illnesses which might appear to have an organic basis but are actually manifestations of a psychic disturbance."

Interestingly, as noted by Dr. Poaster, the Counseling Center and Health Center work together to care for students in many situations. However, in some instances, the Health Center, "cares for students who have psychiatric emergencies" who come to the Health Center instead of the Counseling Center, says Poaster.

The club is interested in events that scream "come join us," as stated by Chris Amstutz '12, treasurer of the club.

"[Active Minds must] constantly keep [its] name out there," said Secretary of Active Minds Mayur Kasetty '11.

With the help of the national organization, the club is able to partake in many upcoming events. "We are hoping to hold a stress-reliever activity around finals with different activities, but I'm not sure if we can do it because of funding issues," Qiao said.

The club also wants to have dorm raps or skits performed by improvisation groups here at Brandeis. It has even been suggested to have the step team stamp out "stigma." Working more with other clubs at Brandeis involved in mental health issues such as Students Talking About Relationships, Peers Educating About Responsible Choices and Student Sexuality Information Service, is also a goal of the club. The club is even trying to branch out and network with other Active Minds chapters such as at the one at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Qiao also talked about how mental health issues are and should be discussed on campus.

"The atmosphere is better than 10 years ago. I'm hoping that it is better," she said.

Prof. Joseph Cunningham (PSYC), the Psychology Undergraduate Advising Head, noted that there are many courses in the Psychology department that "contribute to mental health awareness, including Abnormal Psychology, Health Psychology, Disorders of Childhood, Schools of Psychotherapy, Emotions and Well Being and the Clinical Psychology Practicum." He added further that the undergraduate department for Psychology students has representatives who "collaborate with the Psychology Club and Psi Chi to host speakers or film discussions that may address the topic [of mental health awareness]. Professors also may host representatives from community organizations, such as the National Alliance on mental illness, as guest lecturers and discussion leaders in their classes."

In response to the idea that documented health disorders on campus are being discussed more, Qiao commented that, "I think they're still kept under the radar, but my hope is that people are seeking help at the Counseling Center. And it's OK if you don't talk about it if you're getting help, but overall, the campus isn't very open about talking about it.