Initial Assessments

All students or Postdoctoral Fellows begin their work with CAPS through an initial assessment. These brief consultations occur without an appointment for students seeking counseling or psychological services for the first time at UNC-Chapel Hill.

For initial CAPS services, please visit CAPS at your convenience Monday - Thursday 9-12, 1-4 or Fridays 9:30-12, 1- 4.

During an initial assessment, students complete a brief questionnaire. Then the student speaks to a mental health professional to discuss any challenges managing academic and personal demands as well as create a mutually agreed-upon plan to help each student reach their goals.

The plan could include services provided by CAPS - individual, couples, or group therapy and/or medication evaluation - or referral coordination to help connect the student to providers in the community.

CAPS offers brief individual therapy to students seeking support for issues that are relatively well defined and which can be adequately addressed or resolved in a brief time frame. CAPS does not maintain a specific session limit, nor are brief individual therapy sessions guaranteed to students. An assignment to brief individual therapy is made through clinical judgment of students’ needs during the initial assessment.