When you are ready to make a first time appointment at CAPS, please call (858) 534-3755 or come to our Central Office and request to schedule a first-time appointment.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) provides individual, group, couples, and family psychotherapy to registered undergraduate and graduate students, including students of the Medical School and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Services are free of charge to currently enrolled students who have paid their registration fees. During the summer, students who were enrolled the previous Spring quarter and are intending to return in the Fall quarter are eligible for services.

• All routine first time appointments will be scheduled for a Brief Telephone Assessment (BTA) with a CAPS counselor.
• Our office hours are 8:00am to 4:30pm, Monday through Friday. Our Central Office is at Galbraith Hall 190.
• Your scheduled Brief Telephone Assessment with a CAPS mental health counselor is a 5-15 minute confidential and free assessment, which will be scheduled within 5 business days. You will be asked to briefly describe the nature and history of your concern. The counselor will help you find the best service for your needs.
• At the end of the Brief Telephone Assessment (BTA), your telephone counselor will recommend the best services for your needs. CAPS is focused on assisting students with problems typical of undergraduate and graduate students that can be managed with brief treatment.
• If you require assistance that is within the treatment guidelines of CAPS then your telephone counselor will schedule you for an Initial Evaluation with a CAPS Psychologist.
• You may request a specific staff person on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity or location, but it will possibly mean a longer wait until an appointment becomes available.
• If your needs would be best served by a specialist, by longer term or by frequent treatment, or if you have a chronic or long term mental health problem, then CAPS will assist you in finding a suitable off-campus professional in the community.

Although CAPS generally operates on an appointment basis, there are occasions when a problem or crisis feels too overwhelming to wait for a scheduled appointment. If this is the case, please make this known when you call and you can be seen quickly or within a few hours depending on the nature of the crisis during our hours of operation. Our Urgent Care hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:00pm. Call (858) 534-3755 to speak with the on-call psychologist who will assist you with the concern or crisis.

• After normal hours and during holidays/campus closures, a counselor can be reached for urgent psychological consultations by calling (858) 534-3755, and select Option #2.
• For life threatening emergencies or if anyone is in immediate danger, please call 911.
• For more information about emergency services, please click the button below for more information. I Need Help Now

Students consult with us about a variety of more specific personal, academic and relationship problems. No problem or concern is too big or small. Common issues students bring to CAPS are (but not limited to):

• Depression and suicidal thoughts
• Stress and anxiety
• Poor academic performance and study skills
• Roommate conflicts
• Homesickness and difficulty adjusting to the university
• Disappointing social relationships
• Alcohol and other substance use and abuse
• Difficulty in love relationships
• Loneliness and isolation
• Eating and body image problems
• Sexuality and sexual identity