CAPS Services - Fall 2024 Updates

CAPS is driven by our mission of “Empowering Jayhawks to thrive by supporting and promoting mental health and well-being.” To this end, it is important for us to provide timely access to mental health services.  It is also important that we address the balance between providing the best care options for each student and ensuring that there is room in our system for the thousands of students served each year.  We understand that many students prefer individual therapy for their mental health needs.  Given time and resource constraints at certain points in the school year, these options can be limited, so we utilize a waiting list at times.  The good news is that CAPS offers many other resources that are just as effective—and in some cases, more effective—and are available more quickly. 

Same Day Services: Jayhawk Check-ins and Urgent Support are provided Monday through Friday from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm. These are shorter appointments that consist of meeting with a clinician and discussing current needs. The clinicians will provide an assessment to determine a student’s level of care and depending on the level of care needed the student will be referred to the various services CAPS offers or CAPS staff will help the student locate resources in the community. During high volume times, wait times may be 30-60 minutes or longer.

Workshops and Groups: CAPS offers multiple workshops throughout the week discussing various mental health-related topics. We have our Thriving with Anxiety Workshop, a workshop focused on coping with anxiety, Building the Next: A resiliency-based Workshop, focusing on building coping skills and distress tolerance, Focus of Success Workshop, a workshop focused on task management and study skills, and Building Your Flock: A Health Relationships Skills Workshop, focused on recognizing the red and green flags within relationships.

Peer Supports: The CAPS Peer Support program, HOPE@CAPS, is an amazing team of student peers that provides one-on-one peer support sessions to current KU Students. The schedules and locations for HOPE@CAPS are featured on their website. Not interested in one-on-one?  Then come hang out with HOPE 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Monday through Friday across the hall from CAPS in Room 2620.

TELUS Support App:  CAPS also partners with TELUS to provide access to clinical support 24/7 through chat, phone or scheduled appointments.  All services are free.  TELUS services can be utilized by downloading the app on your phone.

Referrals to On-campus resources:  CAPS staff know about a variety of resources and support services both on-campus and within the community.  They will likely refer students to these options as well.  Some possible options are Watkins Health Services (WHS), the Health Education Resource Office (HERO), Student Support and Case Management, Housing and Residence Life, Student Advising, the Student Engagement Center, Military Affiliated Student Center, Ambler Recreation Services, Wingspan and many others. 

Referrals to Off-campus resources:  Some students come to CAPS seeking (or would be better served by) longer-term or more frequent (such as weekly) therapy services. In some cases, student may also be looking for a specialized type of support not provided by CAPS.  In these cases, we can provide you with appropriate referrals off-campus.

Emergency and Crisis Supports:  While CAPS has urgent support available 10am-3pm M-F, there are many other supports available 24/7.  988 is always available via phone or chat.

In summary, the mental health and well-being of the Jayhawk community is a priority for us all.  CAPS feels blessed to be part of such an engaged group of faculty, staff and students.  We appreciate the continued partnership and support. 

The CAPS Team