CAPS Services
Who is eligible for services at CAPS?
- Full-time Law Center students are eligible for all services at CAPS, including evaluations, consultations, short-term individual and group psychotherapy, and referral services.
- Part-time Law Center students are eligible for evaluations, consultations, and referral services.
- Faculty and staff can consult with CAPS about student situations.
What are the services offered at CAPS, and what are the fees?
- Fees: There is no charge for services at the CAPS Law Center office. Some charges may apply if services are sought at the CAPS main campus location.
- Range of Services: CAPS offers a range of psychological and psychiatric services that attempt to balance the unique needs of individual students with the broader demands of a diverse campus community. Accordingly, in order to best serve the needs of our campus at large, open-ended or extended psychotherapy and medication maintenance services are limited and cannot be routinely offered. Such service offerings are based on staff availability and student need. CAPS services at the Law Center include:
- Evaluations (typically 1-3 sessions at 45-50 minutes each)
- Psychiatric medication evaluation and consultations
- Crisis assessment and intervention
- Referral to community resources
- Consultation
- Outreaching programming
- Brief, problem-focused psychotherapy
- Group Therapy
Why should I seek services at CAPS?
- Students can come in for an evaluation for a range of concerns, including:
- Anxiety
- Adjustment issues
- Bereavement
- Concerns of identity and expression, including racial, cultural, sexual orientation, and gender
- Depression
- Difficulty in relationships
- Family problems
- Eating and body image concerns
- Isolation and loneliness
- Stress, including academic stress
- Self-esteem problems
- Suicidality
- Student who are considering a Medical Leave of Absence must seek an assessment and endorsement from a CAPS clinician. At the Law Center, the administrator responsible for reviewing MLOA requests is the Dean of Students.
- Any faculty, staff or student should seek a consultation if they are concerned about another student or if they are looking for referrals to community resources
- Outreach programming services for the University community are available and scheduled by the CAPS Outreach Coordinator. These services include:
- Workshops on various topics, including depression, eating disorders, test anxiety, LGBTQ issues, and stress management
- Introduction to CPAS and Q&A sessions for staff, faculty, and students
- Workshops/training for staff, faculty, and students
- Referrals to community resources
What can I expect at my first appointment?
1. FIRST CONTACT - During business hours, call (202) 687-6985 and tell the receptionist that you would like to make an initial appointment. You may also visit the Main Campus as a walk-in.
- If you call, you may be asked to leave a message with the Intake Coordinator. You will state your name, number, and best times to call you back.
- If you walk in, you may be asked to wait until the Intake Coordinator is free and can meet with you.
2. INTAKE - This process typically lasts from 5-15 minutes. When you speak with the Intake Coordinator, he/she will:
- Ask for some basic information, including your class, school, contact number, and SSN (to begin a file).
- Ask for a brief mention of your reason for coming to CAPS.
- Schedule an initial evaluation session with a CAPS clinician. More urgent sessions can be scheduled immediately or later that day, depending on need. Non-urgent sessions will typically be scheduled within a week.
- Answer any questions you may have about CAPS services.
3. EVALUATION - You will then meet with a CAPS clinician for an evaluation.
- Please plan to arrive 15 minutes early. Prior to the initial evaluation, you be asked to fill out these forms: Informed Consent and Patient Information.
- The evaluation is an extended interview, and is typically a 45-50 minute session, once a week, for two to three weeks.
- It is free for all students and confidential (with a few exceptions as noted on the Informed Consent form).
- During the evaluation period, your clinician will gather information about your present issue, your goals, your background, etc.
- Also during the evaluation period, your need and interest in medication service will be discussed, if present.
4. DISPOSITION (THE NEXT STEP) - By the end of the evaluation, you and the clinician will both decide on the next step, which may be based on the counselor's recommendations and/or your interest. Some next steps include:
- Nothing for the moment: You may decide that you are not interested or not in need of further services.
- Ongoing therapy: Because of CAPS limited resources, your counselor may explore referrals for treatment off-campus if you are willing to seek treatment locally. If not, on-going therapy at CAPS is possible for full-time students, for a negotiated fee. No one is ever turned away from CAPS due to an inability to pay. Ongoing therapy may or may not be with your evaluation clinician.
- Psychiatric (medication) services (off-campus or at CAPS): At CAPS, initial medication consultations are free with a negotiated fee for ongoing medication services.
- Group therapy
