CAPS FAQs

All currently enrolled University of Arizona students can be seen at CAPS.

Mental health support for Arizona Online and Distance Education students:

Arizona Online and Distance Education students qualify for three free counseling sessions with iConnectYou. Find out more about health care and mental health support options for Arizona Online students.

Mental health support for faculty & staff:

Faculty and staff can receive mental health services through Life & Work Connections.

If you have never been seen at CAPS or it’s been 6 months since your last visit, or you just need a mental health check in during a stressful time, you can schedule a  Counseling & Consultation appointment by phone or online.

Review our instructions for accessing services for students who are under 18.

What happens in your therapy appointment depends on your goals and concerns. CAPS counselors take a collaborative and individualized approach to your care. Generally, you will share your concerns, questions, and goals with your counselor, and together, you'll come up with your next steps. 

Depending on what comes up in a session, your counselor can help you: 

• organize your thoughts
• understand the basis of fears or beliefs you may have
• share new coping skills and strategies
• provide education on emotional wellness
• give you suggestions on how to practice new skills and strategies

CAPS therapists are all licensed and participate in continuing education on a variety of topics like ethics, cultural diversity, and new treatment methods. Each counselor has their own specialty areas to meet a variety of student needs. 

There are many options available through the CAPS Care Pathways Plan to meet a wide variety of student needs and concerns. Sometimes, the best plan for a student involves other University resources or off-campus services. This can happen for a number of reasons, like insurance needs, the kind of services a student is looking for, or what would be the best match for a student's concerns. When that's the case, our care coordinators will discuss your options and help identify people to call to get started. 

If you're more than 15 minutes late for your scheduled counseling appointment, you may need to be rescheduled to the next available appointment time.

To cancel or reschedule a CAPS appointment, call before 4 pm the day before your appointment or there will be a late cancellation charge billed to your account.

Access your Campus Health account and appointment information through Patient Link.

Only Campus Health medical providers and CAPS providers have access to treatment information. Unless the student is younger than 18, no information, including the fact that a student has been seen in CAPS, can be released to others, including parents, unless the student provides signed consent.

Things to be aware of:

• Medical records can be viewed in our secure patient system (PatientLink), which requires your NetID and password to access. Anyone who you have given login information to could potentially see those records.
• No notations about visits to CAPS are made in the student's academic record. In the case of administrative or disciplinary referrals, the student will be asked to sign consent for the referring administrator to be contacted.
• As with all Arizona counseling, confidentiality will be broken only if a client is suicidal or homicidal, is committing acts of abuse against a child or a vulnerable adult, or there is a court order requiring that information be disclosed.

All charges at Campus Health, including CAPS visits, show up as "Student Health Charge" on your bursar bill. If you have used your parent/guardian's insurance, they could potentially find out the nature of your appointment through the insurance company's Explanation of Benefits statement.

A student may be evaluated for psychotropic medications at CAPS. You'll need to meet briefly with a CAPS counselor to initiate psychiatry services. If the counselor deems it reasonable, students will be given an appointment to be evaluated by a member of the psychiatry team. The psychiatric team member will determine if medications may be beneficial in the student's treatment and prescribe these medications, if indicated. 

Find out more about psychiatry services.

After you have seen a member of the psychiatric team for a medical evaluation and been prescribed psychotropic medication, you will be asked to come in at certain intervals for brief "medication checks" and/or prescription renewals. These "med-check" appointments are generally made by calling the CAPS medical assistant at (520) 621-2379. 

Because there is an extremely high demand for these appointments, and it could take some time to get an appointment at a time that works for you, we suggest that you call (520) 621-2379 at least two weeks before you run out of medication for best appointment availability. We take calls during regular Campus Health hours and will do our best to find a time that fits your schedule.

Campus Health is sensitive to the needs of some patients who simply cannot afford certain critical medications. Some pharmaceutical companies offer Patient Assistance Programs that can enable you to obtain certain name-brand medications at little or no cost, if you do not currently have a prescription benefit included as a part of your health insurance and if you meet the other requirements. Note that not everyone will qualify for these programs, even if you believe you have a legitimate financial need.

Each of the pharmaceutical manufacturers that offer Patient Assistance Programs may have very different criteria for participation. Certain clinical parameters, as well as financial parameters will apply in determining eligibility.

If you think you may be eligible for one of these prescription medication Patient Assistance Programs, talk with your Campus Health provider. If they think you are a candidate, they will give you the information, including directions on what to do to apply.