In the never-ending CAPS saga, we’ve received another update from the powers that be in the form of an all-campus email. Some highlights include:
- CAPS has received authorization to hire another full-time therapist in addition to the two full-time therapists have already been hired to replace the two full-time therapists who left.
- There is still no APRN/prescriber, though they “hope to have this position filled very soon”
- CAPS acknowledges that it is bad at connecting students to off-campus care (~understatement of the decade~), despite often claiming that students cannot continue using CAPS because they need “more intensive counseling and support than CAPS is able to provide.” To address this, they’re bringing in a consultant.
The full text of the email can be found below the jump:
Dr. D’Andrea sent the following CAPS update on Friday morning:
Dear Students,
I’m writing to share that we have filled all of the therapist vacancies that we faced as the academic year got underway. We are thrilled to welcome Priya Senecal, LPC, and Ginnie Taylor, PHD, to the CAPS team as full-time therapists. You can read more about them and the rest of the CAPS staff here.
The search for the psychiatric APRN/prescriber position is on-going. This is a highly-specialized position and it has been challenging to find the right candidate to work with our students. We hope to have this position filled very soon.
Given the student demand on CAPS and current utilization patterns, President Roth has authorized us to immediately hire another full-time therapist. We hope to fill this position in the next several weeks and are grateful for his support in augmenting our overall capacity. In reviewing the service that we provide, we also believe that our referral pathways to intensive outpatient therapy and other external resources must be improved. We’ve hired a consultant to help us identify and cultivate referral networks for students who may be in need of more intensive counseling and support than CAPS is able to provide.
As you know, our goal is to continue to see students in crisis within 24 hours and we strive to schedule non-crisis appointments within two weeks. We will continue to evaluate the services we provide and assess how to most effectively support students seeking assistance from CAPS. I will provide updates to the community as we fill the APRN position as well as the newly-approved therapist position.
Sincerely,
Jennifer T. D’Andrea, Ph.D.
Director, Counseling and Psychological Services