Treatment Model and Scope of Services

During the Initial Consultation, a CAPS counselor will review the required paperwork and ask clarifying questions to get a better understanding of a student's current needs and discuss treatment options, such as workshops, group therapy, brief-problem solving, individual counseling, or case management. After the Initial Consultation, treatment recommendations are made by our Clinical Review Team, who will determine whether a student will receive services at CAPS or be referred to other campus- or community-based providers. The variables influencing this decision can be complex. Most often, external referrals are based upon the student's need for longer-term, specialized, or more intensive treatment. Our case manager can offer support to link students with outside referrals.

Brief-Treatment Model

If we determine that counseling at CAPS is recommended, our program offers a brief-treatment model, and most students attend 6-7 sessions of counseling per course of treatment. Counselors can help students resolve or learn to cope with concerns more effectively and offer new perspectives on situations to make needed changes. Counselors use a variety of tools and techniques to address barriers to change and identify solutions that work. There is not one "correct" approach, but rather many paths that may be helpful. Counselors tailor their approach to each student's unique needs. While the length, number, and frequency of counseling sessions are determined by each student's unique situation, a clear treatment plan will outline goals that can be accomplished within a brief-treatment model.

Common concerns related to counseling requests include:

Anxiety and Stress
Depression
Family and Interpersonal Functioning
Academic Performance
Grief and loss
Struggles with Identity
Issues Related to Diversity
Post-Traumatic Stress
Psychiatric Medication Management (only available for students actively engaged in counseling at CAPS)

Limits of CAPS Services

Please note the below limitations to our services and that some students have needs that will be more appropriately addressed by providers at other agencies on campus or in the community. Our Case Manager can help link students to other resources for these needs:

Students who are already receiving counseling services from another provider and do not end that treatment
Students who are seeking counseling because it is a requirement of a class, and who are not otherwise motivated for or in need of treatment
Students seeking documentation for emotional support animals
Students seeking or attempting to meet requirements of court-mandated treatment, legal proceedings, or employment clearance
Students whose needs fall outside the clinical expertise of CAPS staff
Students for whom a short-term treatment model would be detrimental or inappropriate to the diagnosis or clinical issues
Students with a desire to be seen more frequently than CAPS resources can provide (e.g., more than weekly), or on a long-term basis
Students who demonstrate a serious lack of motivation or engagement in treatment, as evidenced by poor attendance to appointments or lack of follow-through on recommendations
Students in need of ongoing or intensive supports to treat chronic, serious mental health conditions
Students with a history of longstanding, seriously maladaptive interpersonal behaviors that result in severe relationship problems, requiring services beyond CAPS scope
Students with a recent history of numerous suicide attempts, severe self-injury, or multiple psychiatric hospitalizations
Students with significant or chronic disordered eating symptoms which require intensive outpatient or residential treatment and whose symptoms pose a medical danger
Students with significant or chronic substance use which requires intensive outpatient or residential treatment, detox, or hospitalization, or whose symptoms pose a medical danger
Students who, despite ongoing efforts of their counselor, are not achieving progress with established counseling goals
Students in need of ongoing medication management after the termination of counseling services or case management at CAPS
Students with active psychotic symptoms at risk for progressive deterioration of functioning and in need of intensive treatment for stabilization
Students who engage in inappropriate, harassing, menacing, threatening, or violent behaviors towards CAPS staff