CAPS Hopes to Regain Student Trust

With the new changes to personnel and resources, Santa Clara’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) department is prioritizing gaining student’s trust. Offering no-cost short-term therapy, CAPS therapists collaborate with students to devise tailored treatment plans.

“I think the campus is coming from some hard times, and I think we're rebuilding trust that the campus has in us,” said Heather Dumas-Dyer, interim director of the Cowell Center. “We're trying to get information so students know that we're fully staffed, that we're able to meet needs, that we have a quick turnaround and that there are no session limits or fees.”

During the late fall quarter of 2021, an outcry from some students demanded increased accessibility to mental health care following the suicides of two students that November. Following an almost two-hour-long student demonstration, the Board of Trustees held an emergency meeting and pledged several million dollars to fund comprehensive mental healthcare at Santa Clara. Over the past three years, the administration has added more psychologists, eliminated service fees, initiated new group therapy programs and enhanced on-campus support.

Illustration by Diego Acevedo

Currently, CAPS has ten professional therapists and seven pre-licensed staff, including pre-doctorate, post-doctorate and marriage and family therapist practicum students from Santa Clara's counseling psychology program. The staff provides individual, group and couples counseling, along with workshops focused on anxiety and grief.

“We're looking regularly at efficiencies and workflow and how we're getting students in and matched,” Dumas-Dyer said.

At the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, CAPS introduced Counselors in Residence (CIRs), who serve as liaisons with the Office of Residence Life. CIRs offer emotional support through walk-in appointments and mental health programming within residential communities, supporting residence life student staff through group counseling and check-ins.

This year, CAPS implemented a liaison program, where members of the staff provide professional consultation and specialized outreach to campus partners and student groups. The liaisons meet with students monthly to exchange information, gather feedback and bridge the gap between students and CAPS.

"We're trying to reduce the stigma, and that's largely what our therapists and residents are doing–humanizing our services," Dumas-Dyer said. "And otherwise, it's us trying to be out and about on campus, connecting with campus partners to humanize the experience and encourage people to seek help."

From Nov. 2022 through April 2023, CAPS hired psychiatric nurse practitioner Erik Steidley. However, this partnership soon ended. Cowell now does not have any staff members able to prescribe or maintain psychiatric medication.

"Due to legal changes, we have now partnered with Christie Campus Health, which provides CAPS 24/7," said Dumas-Dyer. "We're outsourcing psychiatry for this year on a part-time basis until we identify need and capacity, and eventually, there will be law changes allowing us to hire someone in-house."

While CAPS conducts an annual survey to solicit feedback from students, there is currently no mechanism for regular feedback reception. A new marketing outreach communications staff member was appointed this academic year to bridge the gap.

"If students have feedback, they can always send it to the Cowell Center inbox, which is monitored," Dumas-Dyer said. "And we look forward to being accessible and humanizing our service, encouraging students to seek help when needed."

Students can contact the Cowell Center case manager by calling 408-554-4501 to assist in identifying off-campus resources, CAPS 24/7 at 408-554-5220 or email cowellcenter@scu.edu with questions.