A group of suicide experts will speak on a panel about anxiety and depression — how to recognize it and how to cope with it — at the University of Utah on Tuesday night.

“This is something that students and people in general can heal from,” said one of the panelists, Christina LeCluyse, a clinical social worker at the U.’s Counseling Center.

The discussion starts at 6 p.m. and will be held at the Carolyn and Kem Gardner Commons, 260 S. Central Campus Drive. The event is free and open to the public.

The panel will focus on how anxiety and depression affect different age groups and genders, where audience members can find resources and why they should try counseling, LeCluyse said. The annual lecture series, focused on raising awareness, is organized by the university along with the parents of Eric Moerer, a Utah high school student who died by suicide in 1997.

The state has the fifth highest suicide rate in the nation. And it’s the leading cause of death for residents here ages 10 to 17.

The panelists for Tuesday’s event include:

• Lecluyse, clinical social worker, University Counseling Center

• Liz Conradt, assistant professor of psychology, University of Utah

• Rep. Steve Eliason, co-chair of the Utah Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force

• Philip Osteen, associate professor of social work, University of Utah

• Perry Renshaw, professor of psychiatry, University of Utah