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During a year of virtual learning during the pandemic, many students struggled to adapt. For others, returning to in-person learning proved challenging.

There have been several student suicides, and in early October, Professor Thomas Meixner was fatally shot on campus; a former student is charged in the slaying.

After the Meixner shooting on Oct. 5, there was a 23.5% increase in students seeking mental health services compared to the week before, said Counseling and Psych Services director Aaron Barnes.

For the entire fall 2022 semester CAPS saw a 60% increase in students seeking crisis care.

Counseling and Psych Services has increased the number of students it鈥檚 able to see, as well as the number of staff. CAPS sees roughly 1,500 students a month, but the number fluctuates, said evaluation manager Rachel Abraham.

鈥淚n 2019, our staff had about 40 people, but as of now it鈥檚 increased to 70,鈥� Barnes said.

The recent addition of crisis counselors on campus means students have now emergency access to care, said UA Provost Liesl Folks.

University officials are working alongside CAPS on ensuring the wellbeing of students, and understand that mental health is a huge aspect to success in academics, Folks said.

鈥淧roviding wraparound support services, including mental health resources, remains a high priority,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e know that the academic success of students is not only contingent upon instructional support, but ensuring they have access to services that help meet the needs of their overall physical and mental well-being.鈥�

Urgent-care style

Barnes listens to feedback from students and has worked to change the direction of the university鈥檚 mental health services.

The old model for services, which started out with a triage assessment, was disliked by students and faculty. After the initial triage, the student would be rescheduled, and often with a different counselor than they started with. This wasn鈥檛 ensuring the best quality care for students, so Barnes sought a more beneficial model.

Since 2019, the old model has been replaced with one that caters more to the needs of students and is more of an urgent-care-style, according to Barnes, who said it鈥檚 more about letting students have a say in their treatment to make sure it鈥檚 the right fit. Now, students can schedule their appointment online and select the counselor who best fits their needs.

鈥淎 core part of our services is making sure every student that needs counseling, they get counseling,鈥� Barnes said.

There are some limitations to continuing to expand the services CAPS can offer. These include money, as well as space.

With the large staff increase in a short amount of time and limited space in the building, many people are sharing offices. Additional counselors have been placed in other campus cultural centers to maximize space and provide more care.

鈥榃e will find a way鈥� to overcome cost barriers

CAPS gets additional funding from various grants, but Barnes said it鈥檚 simply not enough.

鈥淢y dream is to provide free services, but ultimately it鈥檚 a cost to us,鈥� he said.

Barriers to students seeking help include concerns about insurance coverage, financial stress and not being able to secure an appointment in a timely manner. Barnes said CAPS has options for students seeking services who are worried about the cost.

鈥淐ost should never ever ever be a reason a student can鈥檛 come to get care at CAPS because we will find a way,鈥� Barnes said.

Still, he acknowledges CAPS and its services might not be a perfect fit for all students.

UA psychology major Kimberly Hay looked into therapy through CAPS in November 2021, but ultimately decided it wasn鈥檛 going to work out for her.

鈥淎fter the initial consultation, I didn鈥檛 feel confident I was going to be able to receive the care I needed,鈥� Hay said, adding that she was also concerned about the cost, as her insurance wasn鈥檛 accepted by the center. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to see them add more psychiatric services in the future. That would provide students with the care they need on a whole other level.鈥�

Barnes said he and the rest of the team are on the students鈥� side and that it鈥檚 easier to get things moving when students are advocating for change and resources. CAPS鈥� new operation model started with a student focus group, he said.

鈥淪tudent voices impact our work here and I want the university to stand out and be premiere when it comes to health care,鈥� Barnes said. 鈥� I think we will achieve that because of students.鈥�