Appointments & Services

First time clients and returning clients must complete the CAPS Registration Forms each academic year prior to scheduling their first appointment. Clients returning from fall semester counseling will only need to submit an Updated Availability Form.

• Forms can be accessed Monday - Friday 7:15am-4:15pm
• You will have up to 30 minutes to complete your forms. Incomplete forms will not be saved or submitted.
• To access the forms, you must be on the URWIN wifi network. Those not on the network must download a VPN from the UR Help Desk and log in to access the forms.
• Once forms are submitted to CAPS the student will be contacted by email or phone within one business day with an appointment offer within availability provided. We will offer an appointment within your given availability.
  • If you have not been contacted with an appointment within one business day of submitting your registration forms, call CAPS at 804-289-8119.

• TIPS:
  • Provide as much information as possible when completing the registration forms.
  • Provide all of your weekly availability. The more availability you provide, the easier and faster it is to get an appointment scheduled. Availability should include any time you are not in class.

If you are experiencing a mental health emergency contact CAPS directly at 804-289-8119 M-F from 8:30-4:30. After hours call URPD at 804-289-8911. Visit our Crisis page for more information.

• Your first visit will be a  25-30 minute consultation appointment. This appointment might be virtual if that is the first available within your given availability.
  
  • For personal planning purposes, allow up to 1 hour.

• Your provider will focus on learning about your mental health goals and meeting your immediate needs, and will conclude by making a recommendation about next steps based on the meeting.

Students typically utilize CAPS for 1-8 sessions to reach their goals. We have found students who are able to dedicate more time and energy to working on their mental health outside of the meetings usually have quicker and better results.

CAPS has multiple brief consultation appointments available every day in order to meet students’ needs. These appointments are available on a first come, first served basis.

• We will strive to schedule the initial brief consultation appointment on the same day as the registration forms are completed based on appointment availability and the student’s weekly availability form.
• Students who are already registered with CAPS for the current academic year and would like to request a same day urgent appointment, should complete the AR FORM. The form is located at the bottom of the forms page. NOTE: Please DO NOT complete the CAPS Registration forms again; if you have questions contact CAPS at 804-289-8119. 

CAPS offers crisis appointments daily. If you are experiencing a mental health emergency including frequent suicidal/homicidal thoughts or hearing voices or seeing things that others aren’t hearing or seeing:

• Call CAPS directly at 804-289-8119 Monday-Friday from 8:30-4:30.
• After hours call URPD immediately at 804-289-8911.
• Visit our Crisis page for more information.

In most cases, CAPS clients will have the option to meet either in-person or remotely.

• Students attending remote sessions must be physically located in the state of Virginia. 
• If you are in need of a private space to speak to a counselor remotely, please see the list of spaces on campus: Private Spaces

Counseling Services:

• Students who no show to a Brief Consultation appointment will not be automatically rescheduled and CAPS will reach out to attempt to reschedule if interested.
• Students must make every effort to attend all scheduled counseling appointments. Students who miss two appointments without notifying CAPS at least 24 hours in advance may be referred off campus.
• Students who arrive more than 10 minutes late for a counseling appointment may be asked to reschedule.
• Students who miss the first session of a CAPS program may be unable to move forward and must wait to join the next session.

Psychiatric Services:

• Students must make every effort to attend all scheduled psychiatric appointments. Students who miss two psychiatric appointments without notifying CAPS at least 24 hours in advance may no longer be eligible to use this service.

CAPS Scope of Services for Accommodation Requests
Each CAPS licensed mental health professional can provide documentation of the need for academic and psychological accommodations for a client with a mental health diagnosis. Unlicensed staff, residents, interns, and advanced graduate trainees are required to consult with their supervisor concerning such requests. Clients requesting assistance in getting an accommodation are expected to also participate in counseling and skill building strategies as recommended by the clinician. If a request falls outside of CAPS’ scope of services, the student will be referred to off-campus resources by the clinician.

• Emotional support animal (ESA) requests
• Diagnosis of a specific learning disability

Documentation for Housing Requests Based on a Mental Health Condition
The University of Richmond is primarily an undergraduate residential institution where sharing a room is typically an expectation. A mental health condition can be considered a disability. CAPS licensed mental health clinicians can provide recommendations for housing requests based on a student having a mental health condition that substantially limits their ability to live in a standard University housing unit, but it does not guarantee that the accommodation will be granted. Adjustments in the residential environment are not granted based on one’s preference or personal desire for a building or room location, but rather housing adjustments are created for individuals with documented mental health needs.

CAPS clinicians will not provide documentation for housing accommodations in the first
session. A therapeutic relationship based on a thorough assessment of the client’s functioning often takes 4 to 8 sessions to build trust and a shared understanding of goals developed.

Examples of Housing Requests that Generally WILL NOT Be Approved
In the following scenarios, the requested accommodation for housing would be helpful or desirable, but the request is generally regarded as a fundamental alteration to the college housing program and not considered reasonable or an appropriate accommodation. See the University of Richmond Disability Services link related to housing accommodations: https://disability.richmond.edu/apply-for-accommodations/index.html#housing 

I need a single room as a space to be alone or to retreat to and decompress.
UR is a residential campus with the expectation that students will share a room or their living space. UR students are encouraged to seek out and discover places on campus to decompress, unwind, or process their emotions other than their room where they sleep and share with another person. The following options are available for students:

• UR has four libraries, multiple study rooms in residence halls, a Chapel, a music center, and various spaces in the Deans’ suites to retreat to and decompress.
• Students can find a private nook or space in one of our academic buildings that are generally open to nestle in and read or think.
• The Well-Being Center has sleep pods, a meditation room, and a salt therapy room to help calm students.
• Enjoy solitary walks around the lake or the neighborhood that is covered in trees and vegetation.

I need a single room because I get too distracted when trying to study or do homework.
The University offers many quiet places on campus where students can study:

• UR has four libraries that are open to students’ use.
• Most residence halls have open study rooms.
• Academic buildings are open for students to find a nook or an empty classroom to spread out and do work.
• The Tyler Haynes Commons is open for use for students to study. Students can also study in the various eateries on campus.

I need a single room because I need to have control over my space.
Each student will have to recognize what is in their control in a shared living experience. It is unreasonable to expect to be able to control the entire space. However, it is reasonable to expect to be able to control your belongings and set boundaries with your roommate(s). Sharing space and setting boundaries with a roommate is a skill that can be learned and expected of all students. There are resources in the offices of Residence Life and Housing, the Deans’ offices, the Chaplaincy, and at CAPS to help students learn the skills to live in harmony with others and to set boundaries appropriately.

I need a single room because I had a bad roommate before, and I am afraid that will happen again.
Less-than-perfect roommate situations may happen. Taking what you can learn from a bad roommate situation and applying those lessons to a new situation is how to utilize a growth mentality to overcome through adversity. Students can:

• Make an appointment with Residence Life and Housing staff to discuss their concerns about the roommate agreement and to establish rules of living together from the beginning.
• Work with the CAPS counselors to talk through their past experiences and determine strategies and receive support for moving into a new roommate relationship.

I need a single room because I have items I fear might be stolen.

• All students are encouraged to buy a lockbox or small safe to keep their valuables, including medications, out of sight.
• Consistently lock your dorm room when you leave.

Sources of information:
St. Olaf College
https://wp.stolaf.edu/dac/disability-accommodations-for-housing-guidelines/
Disability Accommodations for Housing Guidelines - St. Olaf College
Virginia Commonwealth University
https://saeo.vcu.edu/requests/housing-accommodations/
Colgate University
https://www.colgate.edu/about/campus-services-and-resources/accessible-housing/

CAPS will provide ADHD screenings based on the following guidelines:

1. ADHD screenings are for full-time UR students who need academic accommodation and are willing to participate in treatment (counseling, skills building and/or medication).
2. Seniors or students in their last year of school may not be eligible depending on the individual case and time of year of request.
3. The ADHD screening results are intended only for UR accommodations and are not designed for documentation for high-stake exams like the LSAT, MCAT, GRE, etc. This is because we are screening rather than performing a full assessment which would require intelligence and achievement testing to rule out a learning disability.
4. Many students can get accommodations based on a psychological disorder and do not need to go through the ADHD screening process. CAPS will require that the student has a therapeutic relationship with a counselor and will not provide documentation at the first session.
5. Wait time for scheduling an ADHD screening depends on many factors, such as the time of year, the student’s schedule and the assessor’s schedule. The process takes anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks from start to finish.
6. There is no cost for the ADHD screenings at CAPS.

Visit the CAPS Groups & Program flyer for specific course offerings.

Group Counseling
Group Counseling opportunities provide weekly support for students with 1-2 CAPS providers and a group of peers addressing struggles related to various topics. These group offerings are typically longer-term (8+ weeks or semester-long) and tend to be less structured than the skill-building programs. A student may be referred to group counseling if they are seeking weekly check-ins at CAPS, struggle with relationship concerns and would benefit from peer feedback and support, and/or identify with a specific population for which we offer a support group.

WHY GROUP? The real question is Why NOT group?:

• You can benefit even when you say very little but listen carefully to others!
• You might learn more about yourself from hearing others’ stories and struggles
• Provides a safe place to take risks and experiment with others (i.e. how you might confront a friend, practice with the group!)
• Initial anxiety about group settings is NORMAL and often quickly reduces. Being comfortable in group settings is a valuable life skill and what better place to do that than in a confidential and safe space!

Skill-Building Programs
A Skill-Building Program likely will be recommended as a first step for anyone pursuing CAPS services whose needs are appropriate for the program. These short-term programs provide useful, proactive, and beneficial skills to anyone, especially those struggling to manage their current circumstances. These short-term programs (3-4 week sessions) allow concentrated, skill-building practice.

All CAPS Group Counseling and Skill-Building Programs require the student to be a CAPS client who has completed a brief consultation appointment with a counselor, but and can be pursued with or without participation in individual counseling.

Individual counseling may be the most appropriate and quickest way to help students reach their goals. A counselor and student work together to identify goals that may be in a variety of realms of the student’s life: personal, relational, developmental, substance use, trauma, academic and other concerns that are preventing the student from functioning well.

Rachel Turk, Psy.D., LCP

CAPS and the University of Richmond Athletics Department have collaborated to make mental health for our athletes a priority. Dr. Turk is located at the Robins Center and meets with varsity student-athletes. She specializes in working with survivors of trauma, individuals with eating concerns, and student-athletes. She is able to work with the UR student-athletes on both mental health concerns and sports performance issues.

Dr. Turk can provide the following services:

• Consultation for student-athletes, coaches, staff, and faculty (for concerns about students)
• Brief individual therapy
• Outreach activities such as presentations, workshops, trainings, guest lectures, interviews, etc.
• Ongoing team/group sessions/programs created and individualized to team needs.
• Referrals to other resources both on and off campus
• Group therapy

Confidentiality: Dr. Turk is an employee of CAPS, and the same CAPS confidentiality standards apply to her work in the Robins Center. Information for her clients is maintained separately from any other athletic, academic, or administrative records and cannot be shared outside of CAPS without permission of the client unless certain legal exceptions apply. In addition, Dr. Turk is a confidential employee and in her role as therapist is not mandated to report sexual assault information to the university.

Athletic Mental Health Resources