Outreach Education

CAPS staff fulfill hundreds of workshop requests annually. Before requesting a workshop, review the prepare and readily available resources below to make sure what you need isn't available.

CAPS On-Demand Resources

• CAPS Services and Common FAQ video
• The Red Folder Toolkit
• CAPS Virtual Library
• Life Hacks 
• Student Affairs workshop offerings 

Available Topics

CAPS does not provide clinical interventions for participants or audience members during outreach and consultation for reasons of confidentiality and other considerations.

• Mood Management – strategies for managing concerns related to symptoms of anxiety, depression, etc.
• Nurture your Nature – exploring the psychological benefits of nature, experience of awe, and being outdoors
• Harm Reduction and Balance – non-judgmental approaches to managing unhealthy use of substances, gambling, phones/screen time, pornography, social media, and other behavioral health concerns
• Life Rhythms – introducing balance to life through self-care, routines/rituals, and alignment with values
• Understanding Self and Others – pathways toward developing a sense of community, connection, and belonging; thinking critically about relationship dynamics and interactions; and examining elements of relationships and communication
• Coping with Change – approaching adjustment, transition, flexibility, adaptability, and resilience.
• Focused Topic Selection – more targeted sessions that tackle acculturation, college transition, world events, imposter phenomenon, and more

Identifying a Host

If you (the requesting party) are unable to be present at the time of the event/presentation, plan to have a proxy in attendance. The representative elected should be in a leadership role and not an intended audience member. For example, if the president of an organization is unable to be present, another board member would be a reasonable proxy.

Confirm Expected Attendance

Please confirm the number of audience members that will be present prior to the event. If you are unable to guarantee attendance, we are happy to discuss a number of other options that may be feasible alternatives to better meet the needs of this group, including Life Hack Kits, the CAPS Virtual Library, and upcoming events where CAPS will be present. 

• Submit your workshop request using the Outreach Form

All requests must come via the Outreach Request Form in order to be processed. Do not send direct requests to CAPS staff. During peak clinical times, CAPS staff may be unable to fulfill requests. Availability for evening and weekend programming is limited. Events will not be scheduled during the last week of classes and finals week.

• Counseling and Psychological Services accepts interview requests from established media outlets in an effort to inform the community about mental health. All requests must come via the Outreach Request Form in order to be processed. Do not send direct requests to CAPS staff.
• During peak clinical times, CAPS staff may be unable to fulfill requests. Interviews will not be scheduled during the last week of classes and finals week.

Before Submitting a Request

1. Review resources to verify that your request is best suited for CAPS staff and not another department or entity
2. Identify your deadline. CAPS can only accommodate requests with at least one week advanced notice.
3. Review the website for resources and information about available services
4. Familiarize yourself with best practices on reporting about suicide and mental health
   1. The Carter Center Journalism Resource Guide on Behavioral Health
   2. Reporting on Suicide Prevention (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
   3. Why Suicide Reporting Guidelines Matter (National Alliance of Mental Illness
5. Understand what to expect
6. Prepare your Outreach Request Form
   1. You will be asked to share your media outlet
   2. Share how you are taking notes
      1. If being recorded, transcriptions submitted or utilizing an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system are not permitted
      2. If being recorded via Zoom CAPS staff wil record and provide the link accordingly
   3. Provide premise, aim, and purpose of the story
   4. Include topic(s)
   5. Outline questions being asked
      1. A general sense of example questions help us address appropriately and identify staff members with speciality of topic

We cannot handle individual interview requests for class assignments. For support in your studies, consider:

• Stopping by an upcoming event where CAPS staff are present to ask your questions. CAPS events are listed in Discover.
• Review resources in our CAPS Resource Library