CAPS Therapeutic Services Process

To help you become more familiar with Therapeutic Services offered by Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), here is some important information.

• The first step in getting individual and/or couple counseling services is to make an appointment for an intake with the CAPS secretary. The intake is a 50 minute interview between you and a counselor. In this interview, you will explain why you are coming for counseling; provide the counselor with important background and family information, and ask the counselor any questions you might have. The counselor will then write an intake report and the client assignment staff will decide which counselor best matches your needs.
• CAPS provides individual and couple counseling where you meet with your counselor for 50 minutes once a week.
• If you feel you are in a crisis condition (e.g. having thoughts of hurting yourself, feeling out of control, having recently gotten some shocking news), a CAPS staff member can meet immediately with you to help you get the appropriate treatment. Please see the secretary for a crisis intervention appointment.
• After the intake, you will be sent an email from your assigned counselor to schedule the first appointment. When demand for counseling is high you may be placed on a waiting list for counseling service. If this happens, CAPS client assignment staff will let you know through an email.
• Any information shared between you and your counselor, either in individual or couple counseling, is kept confidential. No one can get that information without your written permission. For clinical supervision purposes, cases are discussed only between the counselor and CAPS professional staff, when necessary. The privilege of confidentiality is lost when you threaten to do harm to yourself or to another person. Also, in cases where children or elderly people are in danger of abuse, information must be reported in the state in which it happened because it is required by law.
• CAPS provides psychiatric services on Tuesdays and Wednesdays only to students who are receiving counseling services at CAPS. Please note that students receiving psychiatric services from CAPS are required to meet with their counselor regularly.