newspaper(content) RECENT EVENT Support:

Making Your First Appointment

CAPS is now offering teletherapy.

If you are new to CAPS and would like to be referred for these services, please call (402) 472-7450 and Press 2 to speak with the front desk. If you are wanting an in-person appointment, please visit our scheduling webpage.

Making Your First Appointment

Individual Counseling Appointment

In order to best serve students who often have competing demands in their schedules, CAPS provides same-day appointments for students who are NEW to our services. To schedule one of these initial evaluation appointments, we are happy to offer convenient, online scheduling. If you prefer to speak with an office associate to schedule your appointment, please call CAPS at (402) 472-7450.

If you are not sure counseling is your best next step and would like a brief, informal, and confidential consultation, we recommend scheduling a Let's Talk session.

If you need to speak with a counselor about an immediate crisis or urgent need, call (402) 472-7450 and follow the prompts to speak with a counselor who is on call.

If you are not in crisis and would prefer to first work with a peer, contact Big Red Resilience & Well-being at (402) 472-8770.

Initial Evaluation Appointment

All first-time appointments will take place in person. On the rare occasion (e.g., illness, quarantine, isolation, medical need) for those needing a telehealth appointment, contact the front desk at (402) 472-7450 and speak with an office associate for assistance.

Initial evaluation appointments are only scheduled on the current day. Therefore, we encourage you to access the online portal on the same day you would schedule the appointment. We recommend accessing the portal early or calling us earlier in the morning to have a better chance of securing these same-day appointments as they can fill quickly due to the demand for our services.

The purpose of this initial evaluation appointment is to discuss the concerns you’re currently experiencing so your counselor can provide information and recommendations for ongoing services at CAPS or in the community; or determine if another service at the university would better fit your needs. The better you can communicate your worries or needs to the counselor, the better they will be able to respond to your concerns and help you find a good fit for ongoing services, if they are needed. At the end of this appointment, one of the following will typically happen:

You will be scheduled to move into short-term individual counseling.

You will be scheduled for CAPS Group Counseling Programs.

You will be scheduled for a Couples Evaluation to discuss couples/partner counseling.

You will be scheduled for a one-time consultation.

You will be scheduled for a referral appointment with the CAPS Care Manager to provide you with resource information and/or appropriate referrals.

Initial evaluation appointments are typically 1-1½ hours in length, which includes time spent completing the necessary paperwork. If you are unable to keep a scheduled appointment, please call and talk with an office associate to cancel your appointment. If you are more than 10 minutes late for your appointment, we may need to cancel your appointment and ask you to reschedule.

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis

Call (402) 472-7450 24/7 and follow the prompts to speak with an on-call counselor.

Call 911 or Campus Police (2-2222) if you are a danger to yourself or others.