Jayhawk Check-In
Jayhawk Check-Ins are first-time appointments for students who are not current clients and would like to meet with a clinician to start services at CAPS. Jayhawk Check-Ins are short, 30-minute consultation appointments with a clinician to determine what services or resources would best meet your needs.
Good news, no need to schedule. All Check-ins are same-day drop-in, M-F 10am-3pm! Upon your arrival we will ask you to fill out some initial questions, but you will be able to see a clinician soon after that.
For current clients, please call 785-864-2277 or stop by to schedule.
Jayhawk Check-Ins are not for crises or urgent needs. If you are in crisis or your needs are urgent, please come into CAPS. See below for more information regarding crisis or urgent appointments. The CAPS office is located on the second floor in Watkins Health Building.
Find more information about eligibility here.
Crisis and Urgent Needs
CAPS therapists are available for urgent appointments on weekdays from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. If you need immediate help, visit our office on the 2nd floor of Watkins Health Services and request an urgent appointment. There may be a slight wait, but we will make every effort to see you as quickly as possible. If we are unable to accommodate you, we will make other arrangements.
Some examples of urgent concerns include:
- Experiencing elevated levels of distress
- Thinking about suicide
- Thoughts or desire to harm someone else
- Recent traumatic event
- Recent death of a loved one
- Hearing voices or seeing things that others are not
If you are in crisis and cannot come in for an urgent appointment, or are seeking help outside of business hours, please see our crisis support page for more ways to seek help.
What should I expect during my visit?
Your first appointment is a Jayhawk Check-In with a therapist.
Jayhawk Check-In's are for students who:
- Have never been seen at CAPS OR
- Have received services, but haven’t been seen this academic year or have previously completed therapy and would like to restart services.
During this session, staff will review your present concerns, relevant background information, and what things you would like to change. Staff will discuss options for treatment, which may include resources outside of CAPS. You and your therapist will decide on a plan to best help you meet your goals. The practice of counseling and psychotherapy is not easily described. Much of what we do in therapy is very individualized and depends, in part, on your goals.
To maintain safety, the following are some of the precautions that you need to take for in-person appointments:
- You will only keep your in-person appointment if you are symptom free and feel well.
- You agree that you will NOT come to CAPS:
- if you are ill with any contagious illness,
- if you have a fever, shortness of breath, coughing, or any other symptoms associated with COVID-19,
- if you have been exposed to another person who is showing signs of infection or has confirmed COVID-19 within the past two weeks.
- Please call to let us know you are ill and you will not be billed for a missed session. If you are feeling well enough for a session and are calling greater than 24 hours prior to your appointment time, please ask to have your appointment changed to a telehealth visit.
- If you have had a fever, you will only keep your in-person appointment if you have been fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications.
- You will cancel or reschedule your appointment if you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 14 days.
- If you have traveled, you will only attend in-person appointments if you have adhered to the current Kansas Department of Health and Education (KDHE) travel guidelines.
- You may request in-person or telemental health (TMH) services by contacting CAPS before your appointment. There may be times that CAPS is unable to meet your request (e.g., if front desk staff are out of the office, your practitioner is unavailable to meet with you in-person, or there is a public health threat).
- You are not required to use TMH and may request in-person services. If CAPS is only offering TMH due to a public health emergency, staff will discuss options in the community for in-person services so that you may transfer your care to another practitioner.
CAPS office hours are Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM when classes are in session. CAPS is open during intersession on a more abbreviated schedule. Appointments may be made by phone during regular business hours. There is no provision for contacting us other than during the above hours. Calls placed to the CAPS office after regular hours will be forwarded to CAPS voicemail. Voicemail messages will be picked up the next business day. The voicemail greeting will instruct callers who have an urgent need to contact community resources.
CAPS will communicate with you via your KU email or by phone if you have given us permission to contact you through those options.
Because of the high value placed on the privacy of our clients, staff members of CAPS do not use Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media to schedule/cancel appointments, communicate with clients/patients, or provide services. Please call, email, or stop by our office if you need to communicate with us.