UM Counseling and Psychological Services Student Advisory Board (CAPS SAB)
We are looking for individuals who are passionate about college student mental health to meet once a month with the CAPS Director (Dr. Todd Sevig) and CAPS Associate Director of Community Engagement and Outreach (Dr. Christine Asidao) to provide a combination of thoughtful feedback on CAPS approaches to mental health on the U-M campus and occasional activities in which we do something for the U-M campus.
We are now accepting applications for the 2021-2022 academic year. Please continue reading for more information on CAPS SAB and how to apply.
The CAPS Student Advisory Board (CAPS SAB) is a community of undergraduate and graduate students interested in advising Counseling and Psychological Services on the variety of ways in which we engage with the greater UM community on matters of college student mental health as well as actively participating in topic-focused projects. The CAPS SAB was established in 2008 and advises CAPS on matters of mental health outreach to all students, provides valuable input on various agency decisions and is involved in staff searches. CAPS SAB members have the opportunity to work closely with the Director and Associate Director of Counseling and Psychological Services. We truly value CAPS SAB input and work hard towards implementing suggestions.
Examples of past activities and projects:
- Providing student perspective and recommendations for the CAPS Initial Access Model
- Providing recommendations for faculty on how to best support college student mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Creating a 1st Year Guide for incoming students in order to help ease the transition to the University of Michigan
- Creating a Faculty Toolkit in order to promote an environment supportive of mental health for students
- #CAPSonTimeOut mental health social media challenge
- Creating, writing and acting in a CAPS promotional video
- Providing significant student perspective and suggestions in creating a “Part 2” to the well-established CAPS QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) suicide prevention training
- Promoting and engaging with students through the Semester Survival 101 tabling event
- Providing recommendations on CAPS social media, suicide prevention and eating disorders and body image outreach efforts
- Providing valuable input in advocating for “CAPS After Hours” information to be printed on the back of every new MCard
- Providing guidance and feedback for the “University of Michigan Student’s Guide to Mental Health Hospitalization”
- Increasing accessibility and knowledge regarding the CAPS appointment process (https://youtu.be/9kuKiTHXaFM)
A few activities to expect during the 2021-2022 year:
- Discussing and finding creative solutions to address mental health issues that affect the entire UM student body
- Informed and thoughtful input regarding CAPS outreach and community engagement initiatives
- Potentially collaborating with other student mental health groups
- Meeting and asking questions of interested SAB applicants at the end of the academic year and providing recommendations to the Director and Associate Director of CAPS
The purpose of this application is to determine your interest in committing to the CAPS SAB and determining best fit. As you fill out the application, please keep in mind what you can contribute as a member and how you would benefit by serving on the CAPS SAB. Note: The CAPS SAB does not provide peer counseling.
*We typically meet the 1st Friday of every month from October until April. We may also provide 1-2 outreach events focused on decreasing stigma and increasing college student mental health awareness each semester.
*Applications are due by 5pm on Monday, March 29th.