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News

CAPS sees rise in crises

Increase attributed to elevated visibility among students and national trends

by CATALINA OTALORA
The Daily Cougar

If you experienced a personal crisis last year, you were not alone.

Counseling and Psychological Services at UH saw a "dramatic" increase in the number of crises during 2006, a written report to the Student Fees Advisory Committee said. 

Almost every month in 2006, the number of crises was higher than in the same month of 2005 -- for example, crises in September 2006 were up 130 percent from September 2005, to 44 cases from 19.

"It's a combination of factors that contribute to the increase in crises appointments," Kimberly James, CAPS assistant director and outreach director, said.

One factor is the effort that CAPS has made to get closer to students and make its services known, she said.

"Advertising, getting the word out there and emphasizing the stigma associated with counseling helps breach that gap," James said. "(Students) see a face and talk to a person, and they feel more comfortable coming in."

CAPS is only one among many counseling centers that has experienced an rise in crises.

"Nationwide, counseling centers are seeing a increase in crisis appointments and chronic presentations with students," James said. "We're seeing a lot of different types of clinical presentations on college campuses that may also fit into crisis situations, whether it's about relationships or someone stopping to take (his or her) meds."

The issue that led to most crises at UH was relationship problems, but there are a high percentage of students that reported suicidal thoughts, James and CAPS Director Kenneth Waldman said. Students living in residence halls were more prone to experience suicidal thoughts. CAPS' written report to SFAC said in 2004-05, 26 percent of its clients had experienced some sort of suicidal thoughts ranging from minimal to extreme. 

A 2006 national survey on suicidal ideation conducted at UH showed that of undergraduate students who had seriously contemplated suicide, 81.3 percent had never sought professional help.

CAPS has a nationally recognized suicide prevention program called Question, Persuade and Refer, where gatekeepers are trained to recognize suicidal signs. The training is available to all resident advisers as well as counselors to international students. Women make up about 60 percent of CAPS' clientele.

"Nationwide, women are more likely to go to counseling." Waldman said. "Probably, the one group that is not quite as high as the numbers on campus are Asian students, and I think that's because of a greater stigma in Asian cultures regarding counseling." 

The mission of CAPS is to help students in any way possible, and students are referred to other places if necessary, James said.

"Students that come to CAPS presenting a crisis are seen the same day. There's no waiting list," James said.

Waldman noted counseling services are always on hand for those who need them. 

"We're available 24/7 if someone is in crisis," he said. "CAPS is listening to feedback and is making a lot of changes to make sure that CAPS is accessible." 

CAPS is located in Room 226, Student Service Center. For more information, call (713) 743-5454 or visit www.caps.uh.edu. Individuals requiring immediate help can call the UH Police Department at (713) 743-3333 to reach a counselor.

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