After four new offices were added to the Counseling and Psychological Services counseling center last semester, CAPS officials are continuing to see demand for their services climb and plan to increase programming to reach more students.
CAPS saw an increase in funding from the University last semester, allowing for the new construction, but CAPS Director Todd Sevig said CAPS officials are continuing to use the funds to expand their programming beyond just the new offices — especially in light of a recent increase in the number of students using their services.
“We’re trying to make good use of the money,” Sevig said. “It’s not just dollars and cents to us; it’s what we can do with it, so we’re remaining engaged with students to make sure we’re making use of our increase in money.”
According to CAPS statistics obtained by The Michigan Daily, from Jan. 1 to Feb. 19, 2009, there were 465 first appointments and 1,220 individual appointments. During the same time period in 2010, CAPS had 497 first appointments and 1,263 individual appointments. Combined, total appointments have increased by more than 4 percent.
“Basically, more people are requesting services,” said CAPS Associate Director Vicki Hays. “There’s more demand.”
Hays said the average wait time for an appointment is now seven to eight days compared to the rough average wait time of 14 days in October — prior to the completion of the new offices in early November.
According to the 2008-2009 CAPS annual report, 96 percent of University students said they would return to CAPS if they ever needed to seek help again, and 98 percent said if a friend was in need of similar help, they would recommend him or her to CAPS.
The report also states that from 2008 to 2009, CAPS had 3,127 students request clinical services, which is a 63-percent increase from 2000 to 2001 when 1,914 students requested services.
Though Hays doesn’t know the reason for the increase in demand, she cited a few factors, including the economy and its effects on students, increased interest in CAPS outreach programs and a possible decrease in stigma from students hearing positive comments from others about their CAPS experiences.
“I think it’s some form of combination of all that,” Hays said.
Sevig said the center is expanding its services by offering more individual counseling and other programming to create a more comprehensive office.
“We’re in this wonderful period right now where we are getting bigger in terms of increase in quantity and also increasing ways that really meet students’ more immediate or short-term needs,” Sevig said. “Individual counseling is a very important part of what we do, but we do a lot of other things.”
Hays said CAPS recently developed a number of drop-in counseling classes that are open to all students and do not require an appointment. Some of the workshops offered involve maintaining healthy relationships, improving self-esteem, meditation and dealing with procrastination.
“The group offerings have increased quite a bit this term,” she said. “Groups are a really wonderful way for students to experience personal growth — not just with one person giving them feedback — but with a lot of people giving them feedback, especially from their peers.”
Through these programs, Sevig said CAPS is able to reach students that wouldn’t normally come in for individual appointments.
“Yes, we’re increasing the quantity of our individual work, but we are also increasing in other ways,” he said. “We’re getting a little smarter in how to get in touch with students’ needs.”
Sevig said since mental support for students doesn’t come in a “one-size-fits-all” approach, CAPS is trying to think of creative ways to attract students.
With the help of the CAPS Student Advisory Board, CAPS is creating three short videos that will soon be posted on the CAPS website. The video topics include how to make an appointment at CAPS, how to help a friend in need of services and how to break the ice with a professor.
And the extra programming is coming at a time when CAPS is seeing an increase in the number of students using the center.
Hays said even though the wait time for an appointment with a CAPS counselor is usually longer in fall semesters, this winter semester has had a longer wait time than in the past.