UM Counseling and Psychological Services Student Advisory Board (CAPS SAB)
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:
- 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 https://youtu.be/ozUDB86qTP4
- 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 https://youtu.be/fhvFSnvs54o
- 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 https://caps.umich.edu/article/caps-now-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 2019-20 year:
- Discussing and finding creative solutions to address mental health issues that affect the entire UM student body
- Hosting the annual CAPS SAB Semester Survival tabling event
- 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