Update: While many of these services may still be available during COVID-19 and the campus suspension of in-person classes, please check directly with the offices listed for their most current hours and services. CAPS current services are listed here.

Dear students,

College students across the country can experience high levels of stress, anxiety and depression, and UC Santa Cruz is no exception. Given everything that’s happening on campus, some students are experiencing even more stress than usual.

It’s important to know that there are many ways to get support if you need it. They are there for all students, including graduate and undergraduate students. Some offices on campus offer direct mental health and medical care, and others provide other types of support.

People are here to help. Please read on to learn about all the services available to you.

STUDENT HEALTH SERVICES MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)

(831-459-2628) | Open M-F, 8-5 | Call or stop by to get started.

Location: all colleges, Family Student Housing, McHenry Library, the Cove, the Porter Annex, and our central location at the Cowell Student Health Center.
Eligibility: Currently enrolled UCSC undergraduate and graduate students.
Fees: None. Registration fees cover CAPS services.
Services: brief therapy, off-campus provider referrals, Let’s Talk drop-in groups, and specialized staff for multicultural populations, trauma survivors, and graduate students.
Educational Workshops to assist students to be successful in college. We have 3-session Anxiety Toolbox and Mood Toolbox programs to help students learn skills to manage anxiety and depression. Other topics include stress management, mindfulness, and navigating multiple and intersecting identities, that can be requested at any time by student groups and departments on campus.
After-hours care: get telephone crisis assessment, safety planning, and referrals by calling our main number and selecting option 3.

Other Student Health Services (SHS) Programs

These programs offer many options for coordinated, collaborative and seamless mental health and primary care.

Psychiatry Services: evaluations, consultations, and ongoing care. Requires a referral from a counselor, SHS primary care provider, or a case manager in either SHS or CAPS.

Case Management Services: licensed mental health providers work with students who are experiencing barriers to on-campus and off-campus care. Requires a referral from a counselor, SHS provider, or psychiatrist.
Primary Care: The Student Health staff provide gender-affirming care and respect the mind-body connection for all health and wellbeing needs. Primary care providers also screen and treat students for depression, anxiety and eating disorders. Providers work with other mental health services, both on and off campus, to ensure care coordinated and comprehensive care.

The COVE: The Cove is a space to be in community with other students who are committed to their recovery from alcohol and/or other drugs. We also welcome the loved ones of someone with an addiction; people who want to support those in recovery; anyone interested in recovery; and those who just want to meet other students who are substance-free and looking for community.

CARE: UCSC CARE responds to the needs of the community impacted by sexual violence, dating/domestic violence and stalking. CARE provides prevention and intervention services. Survivors and support persons impacted by interpersonal power-based violence can work one-on-one with a confidential Advocate to receive crisis support and ongoing support services including emotional support, case management, advocacy, safety planning, coaching in coping and resilience, referrals to mental health services, and other needs-based support. CARE also offers educational programming including skills-based support groups, “Yoga as Healing" programs, workshops for healing and supporting survivors.
Peer Programs: Student Health Promotion, or SHOP, CAPS and CARE use trained student volunteers to do outreach and education for their fellow students on a variety of mental health and other wellness topics

ONLINE MENTAL HEALTH OPTIONS

LiveHealth Online: secure, online video visits with licensed mental health professionals. LiveHealth online has a low copay and no referral is needed.
Therapy Assistance Online (TAO) and WellTrack: interactive tools and self-care exercises for mental health concerns.

OTHER CAMPUS MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT

Slug Support: Slug Support offers case management and financial support for students in crisis-related to issues of food insecurity, housing insecurity, and mental and medical health challenges. This can include support with copays and/or help identifying mental health resources.
Educational Opportunity Programs (EOP): The EOP program offers holistic advising and student programs to first-generation, low-income and underrepresented students. EOP students can meet with an EOP counselor and/or with a peer adviser. In addition, there are student success resources and an array of programs students can join to build community.
Resource Centers: The Resource Centers (RCs) include the Ethnic Resource Centers: African American Resource and Cultural Center, American Indian Resource Center, Asian American / Pacific Islander Resource Center, and “El Centro” the Chicano Latino Resource Center; the Lionel Cantú Queer Center, and the Women's Center. Each of the resource centers offer students various services through academic, cultural and community support activities. Throughout the year, the RCs host programs and events that connect students, staff, faculty and community members in social, professional and academic settings. Students can network and create community spaces to engage in stimulating and critical dialogue, and to find connections to build a positive and empowering space for all communities.