Trauma-Informed Services for Survivors of Sexual Violence
The Survivor Care Team is a collaboration between the University of Michigan Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) and the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC) to offer holistic mental health and advocacy services for student survivors seeking support.
For more information about the Survivor Care Team, please click HERE.
The CAPS Survivor Support Team
The Survivor Support Team (SST) is a group of mental health care providers specifically trained in providing trauma-informed care to survivors of sexual violence. We meet monthly with SAPAC staff to collaborate and consult with one another in order to provide students with a holistic approach to care.
UM CAPS is here to assist you with:
- Emotional processing after experiences of sexual assault, relationship abuse, stalking, and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence (whether these experiences were recent or happened in the past).
- Grounding techniques and coping strategies to manage symptoms of anxiety, depression, and/or PTSD that might occur as a result of experiencing sexual or gender-based violence.
- Creating language that best describes your experience as you move toward healing.
- Supporting you in finding ways to share your experience with others in your life, if you want to.
- Communicating in relationships while re-establishing trust and safety.
- Exploring the ways in which intersecting identities, marginalization, power, and/or oppression have impacted your experiences of sexual violence.
- Supporting you in dealing with rape culture.
- Connecting to additional campus or community resources that may help in your healing journey.
Briana Chalker, LPC
Ray Kaidbay, BA, MSc
Some team members are embedded, meaning they are located within a particular school/college and work with only students in those programs. You can directly contact an embedded counselor via email, located on their page.
Kristen Adams, Ph.D. (School of Nursing)
Jamie Boschee, LMSW (School of Social Work)
What does CAPS offer?
- CAPS offers urgent and crisis same-day appointments; individual therapy; group therapy; and care management. Together with your counselor, an informed treatment decision is made based on your individual needs. These decisions take into account many factors, including but not limited to, each client’s needs, mental health history, multicultural factors, time of year, access to additional resources and support, etc.
What do these services look like?
- Urgent & Crisis Same-Day appointments
- Each day, CAPS has a Counselor on Duty to provide same day services for students who need immediate support. These appointments are available on a first come, first served basis. Some examples of when students might use our urgent same-day services include, but are not limited to, a recent sexual assault, current abusive relationship, increase in mental health symptoms related to any experiences of sexual or gender-based violence, etc.
- Individual therapy
- CAPS uses a brief, individual therapy model to meet the needs of all our students. We do not have a strict session limit, and each brief therapy experience looks a bit different based on each client’s needs. Your therapist will work collaboratively with you to come up with a plan at your first appointment.
- Group therapy
- A Journey Towards Healing is a CAPS group especially for students who have experienced any form of sexual assault or abuse as well as dating or relationship violence. It is a collective healing space designed to offer support, strategies for coping, and safety to explore the idea of moving forward together. It runs every semester and meets weekly.
- Care management
- Care management services are often helpful for students with insurance challenges and support in connecting to additional resources.
How do I make an appointment?
- You can schedule a first appointment (initial consultation) with any of these clinicians through our online scheduling system. If your school or college has an embedded counselor on our team, you can reach out to them directly via email to schedule.
- You can call (734-764-8312) or email ([email protected]) our front desk and ask to schedule an appointment with an SST counselor.
- You can attend an initial consultation or COD appointment with someone who is not on the SST and, if it is determined that CAPS is a good fit for you, you can request to work with someone on SST moving forward.
What fees are associated with accessing CAPS services?
- CAPS services are free for students who are currently enrolled in classes. This includes graduate students under the Continuous Enrollment Policy.
Is this confidential?
- Yes. When it comes to protecting your information, CAPS follows all professional standards, and state and federal laws. For more specific information, review our Confidentiality Information.
What is trauma-informed care?
- Trauma-informed care takes into account a client’s experience of trauma, and tailors treatment to meet the client where they are in their healing process. Safety, transparency, and empowerment are all important parts of trauma-informed care.
What resources are available to share with family and/or friends supporting a survivor of sexual violence?
- Check out our resource on how you can support a survivor in your life.
What are other therapy resources in Ann Arbor for survivors?
- For help looking for community therapists who specialize in trauma treatment, check out our Community Provider Database
- For self-guided resources and more information on resources for particular populations (such as male survivors, survivors of color, LGBQ survivors, Trans and non-binary survivors, and more), check out our virtual resource guide.
Do you have urgent same-day services?
- If you, or someone you know, has been sexually assaulted in the last 120 hours (5 days), we encourage you to speak with our counselor on duty to get important safety and medical information. You may also call our 24-hour line when we are not open at 734-764-8478.
