At the University of Toronto, mental health services are delivered by health professionals — primarily psychologists and psychiatrists. On the downtown campus services are provided through Counselling and Psychological Services (CAPS) or Health Services.
CAPS provides service to full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The majority of students (95%) visit CAPS for 12 sessions or less and their assessed needs determine the duration and type of care. There is now no limit on the number of CAPS visits a student can make although, as care progresses, a clinical assessment may determine that a student would be better assisted through a long-term community-based resource. CAPS will facilitate the transfer of care to a community-based psychiatrist or mental health facility and will provide support until the student has fully engaged the community-based service.
All students seeking mental health services through CAPS have an initial ‘point of care’ or ‘intake’ appointment with a psychologist. During this appointment the psychologist undertakes a clinical assessment and determines a ‘care pathway’ for the student. Generally, the time from a student’s first contact to an intake appointment (in person or by phone) is 1.58 days but could be up to three days. This initial assessment helps to determine the timeline for the next course of action. The urgency and severity of assessed need determines how quickly a student will be seen by CAPS or Health Services. Those assessed as ‘emergent’ are seen on the same day by an on-call clinician in CAPS or, if a CAPS professional is unavailable, by a physician in Health Services. Those in ‘urgent’ need will be seen that day by a physician in Health Services or within two to four days by CAPS. If there is any delay in the scheduling of follow-up appointments it is because CAPS or Health Services is unable to make personal contact with a student. Out of respect for a student’s privacy, the services do not communicate through email or leave detailed voicemail messages. To help alleviate this delay, the use of text messaging is being explored.
The urgency and severity of assessed need will also have an impact on the care options that are recommended. CAPS offers individual counselling (for those students requiring this kind of support) as well as a variety of group sessions for students. Embedded faculty-based counsellors are an increasingly popular option for students, as are CAPS skills-building workshops (created to address common issues for which students seek assistance for at CAPS). Students may be referred to Counseline a service for undergraduate Arts and Science students, to Peers are Here support drop-in group and workshops, and to services at the Academic Success Centre. To learn more about these services and options, visit the CAPS website at http://caps.utoronto.ca/main.htm
Information on UTM’s Health & Counselling Centre is available at UTM: http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/health/health-promotion/mental-health
Information on UTSC’s Health & Wellness Centre, is available at: http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~wellness/