About Us

Undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, who have been assessed and have paid the Student Health Fee are eligible for care coordination services.

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Vanderbilt Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS) is committed to providing responsive and accessible mental health care to all Vanderbilt students by connecting them with the right level of care at the right time. At CAPS, clinical services include:

• Goal-directed individual and group therapy for mild-to-moderate concerns like stress, anxiety, mood changes, loneliness, and relationship concerns.
• Same-day urgent care for crises and emergency situations when things feel overwhelming.
• Psychiatric services for diagnostic evaluation, medication management, and multi-disciplinary treatment planning when needed.
• Skill-building workshops, drop-in consultations, and outreach programming to help develop coping skills, strengthen connections with others, and cultivate resilience.
• Comprehensive performance psychology and mental wellness interventions and services are provided to varsity student-athletes and teams by embedded staff sport psychologists.
• Psychological evaluations may be provided for students who are experiencing academic or mental health challenges that significantly impair their ability to engage in the university’s academic environment. Collaboration with Student Affairs, including Student Care Network partners, to connect students with time management, study skills, and adjustment-related needs with recommended support and services.
• When there is a need for more intensive or specialized treatment, the CAPS provides referrals to case management services. In such cases, facilitating a connection with the appropriate level of care is an important clinical and ethical next step that will ensure students receive the support necessary to address their mental health needs safely and effectively.
• CAPS also serves as a clinical training site for counseling trainees, who offer services while being closely supervised by licensed, experienced professionals. 

Services Outside the CAPS' Clinical Scope of Care

CAPS does not provide evaluations solely for the purpose of:

• Employment clearance or disability benefits
• Adoption processes or court mandated legal proceedings
• Graduate school exam or professional licensing exam accommodations
• Emotional support or service animals (ESA) or housing

CAPS does not have sessions limits, we provide time-bound goal-oriented care individualized to each person's needs.

Most services are covered through University tuition and fees, including new client appointments, individual and group psychotherapy, psychiatric evaluations and follow-ups, urgent care, psychological assessments, and drop-in consultations. While medication management visits do not incur a charge, students are responsible for purchasing their own medications.

CAPS collaborates with Student Access to support student requests for accommodations by providing documentation for students who have an established treatment relationship with a CAPS provider, defined as at least 4 appointments within the past 6 months. 

Documentation for accommodations is not provided during Urgent Care or Drop-In Consultation appointments.  

CAPS does not provide letters to support requests for Emotional Support Animals (ESA). Please contact Student Care Coordination (SCC) for a referral to a community provider who can perform a disability evaluation and provide ESA documentation. Financial resources may be available for students who qualify. 

CAPS does not complete official forms for accommodation requests external to Vanderbilt. This includes forms for entities that offer graduate entrance examinations (GRE, LSAT, MCAT, GMAT) and professional licensing examinations (e.g., medicine, nursing, law, teaching). If clinically indicated, a CAPS provider may provide a brief letter to the student verifying diagnosis and functional limitations only. Recommending specific testing or employment accommodations falls outside the scope of CAPS.

Many licensing boards require comprehensive diagnostic/psychological testing to support accommodations requests. These types of evaluations are not offered by CAPS. Please contact Student Care Coordination (SCC) for a referral to a community provider who can perform a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation and complete the required forms.

CAPS has a robust training program, accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA). We train a wide range of students who are pursuing a career as mental health providers and all trainees are supervised by licensed clinicians. 

CAPS is considered a confidential resource and is not mandated to report information to Title IX, EOA, SACSAI, or others.

CAPS' partners in the Student Care Network – Student Care Coordination (SCC) Center for Student Wellbeing (CSW), and the Student Health Center (SHC) – may have access to your history of attending appointments at the UCC in order to facilitate or coordinate your care. There may be circumstances in which additional minimally necessary information is shared with the primary offices of the Student Care Network (SCC, CSW, and the SHC) for the purposes of care coordination.

CAPS providers do not share any information with parents and other entities outside the SCN, including VU faculty and staff. 

Exceptions apply when disclosures are legally permitted or required (in situations when child abuse, elder abuse or disabled adult abuse is suspected; when the therapist has reasonable cause to believe that a client presents an imminent danger to self or others; or in response to a valid subpoena or court order).

Please email CAPS at CAPS@vanderbilt.edu to request:

• A change of therapist
• A change of psychiatric provider
• A change of sport psychology clinician
• Assistance navigating care with your provider(s)