Appointments

Appointments can be made by phone or in person. You may call CAPS at 206-296-6090 to request an appointment or stop by our office during regular business hours: Mon - Fri, 8am -12pm and 1pm-6pm.

Each student requesting services at CAPS will be scheduled for an Initial Evaluation as soon as an appointment is available. The purpose of this interview, conducted by a member of our clinical staff, is to obtain basic information about you, your background and your reasons for seeking services so that we may better serve you. Following the Initial Evaluation, you will be advised of the services available to you at CAPS as well as other resources available on and off campus. If short-term counseling at CAPS is appropriate, you will be scheduled to meet with a therapist for your next counseling session.

Enrolled students are eligible for the type and amount of services appropriate to their needs. Appointments are scheduled as soon as possible, depending upon the flexibility of your schedule and the availability of staff. If you are experiencing a crisis or urgent problem, please inform us so that we may help you get prompt assistance.

Due to the often high demand for services, CAPS may not have appointment times available for new clients. This frequently happens close to the end of academic quarters and/or before holidays. Although we work very hard to eliminate this obstacle as quickly as possible, we are not always able to give students an appointment as soon as they might like. For students who feel unable to wait for a regularly scheduled appointment, we can provide off-campus referrals to a provider in the surrounding community.

CAPS also maintains Urgent Care Hours, Mon - Fri at 11am and 3pm on a first-come, first-serve basis. Some students find that this one session is all that they need or that a single session helps them to manage better until they are able to see a counselor on an on-going basis.

Missed appointments cause lost opportunities for our staff to work with other students who may be waiting for available appointments. If you are unable to keep your appointment, you must call to cancel at least 24 hours in advance. This will allow another student to schedule an appointment during that hour. Cancellations with less than 24 hours notice and no shows for appointments count as a session. After three no shows and/or cancellations with less than 24 hours notice, a student will be ineligible for services at CAPS for the remainder of the current academic year (Summer Quarter through the following Spring Quarter). We are always available to provide students with referrals to community providers when they are ineligible for services.

Note:

• You cannot make an appointment for another person.
• All appointments must be made by the person seeking counseling.
• CAPS offers consultation to concerned parents, faculty, staff, and other students. You may call and ask to speak to a counselor who will help you decide what options are available.

After office hours, we provide on-call service to the campus community through Residence Life and through the Office of Public Safety.

Urgent Care Hours

Two Urgent Care Hours are available Mon-Fri, at 11am and 3pm to accommodate students who cannot wait for a regular scheduled appointment. This time is reserved for individuals in crisis and is not to be used as a routine appointment hour. You may come directly to CAPS at this time and let the front-desk person know that you have an urgent need to speak to a therapist or call us at 206-296-6090. When possible, a call to CAPS prior to your arrival will help us better prepare to assist you.