The University of Michigan’s Counseling and Psychological Services now provides mental health services over the phone for urgent matters and crises occurring after hours.
The new service also provides an opportunity for faculty and staff that may be concerned about a student to consult with a mental health counselor after hours.
Members of the campus community can call the main CAPS phone number, 734-764-8312, to access this service.
CAPS is the main unit on campus responsible for providing student mental health services. The center provides confidential psychological and psychiatric services for all university students.
“Thanks to a generous donation from the Gatof Family Foundation, we can now provide students access to mental health counselors whether it’s 3 a.m., spring break or during a semester break,” says CAPS Director Todd Sevig. “This new service allows us to extend the center’s reach to more students.”
CAP’s will partner with ProtoCall Services, which has been providing professional mental health services over the phone since 1992. They currently serve more than 100 campuses and 2 million college students.
Call centers are staffed by master’s- or doctoral-degreed mental health professionals. On-site clinical supervisors provide clinical and procedural consultation to front-line clinicians at all times, and CAPS clinicians work closely with every counselor to assure continuity of care for our students.
According to the 2014-15 CAPS annual report, the demand for mental health services increased by 17 percent, more than four times the expected increase based on previous years.
“The increase highlights a rising demand for mental health services from college students,” says Sevig. “This trend, which is also happening nationally, requires us to deliver services in different ways in order to meet the current needs and this is one example of that work.”
The new after-hours service is being provided to students in connection with existing after-hours U-M services such as the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center’s Crisis Line, the University Health Service Nurses Line, UMHS’ Psychiatric Emergency Room, the Dean of Students Office Critical Incident Team, and the U-M Division of Public Safety and Security.
David Matrix
This event bodes well for the Community.