Outreach Services
Building a community of care on campus through mental health education, stigma reduction, and spaces of healing that are inclusive and culturally responsive.
Outreach Philosophy
MSU CAPS has a long history of prioritizing mental health access. In 1968, the Multi-Ethnic Counseling Center Alliance (MECCA) was formed to better serve students of minoritized racial and ethnic backgrounds. This legacy has been a critical part of staff training in culturally and racially responsive care, as well as the development of creative outreach initiatives that contribute to prevention and healing for all students.
Like many other collegiate mental health centers, MSU CAPS has used the term “outreach” to represent services that are not considered formal treatment, but still promote mental wellbeing among students. CAPS also uses the term “community engagement,” to capture its ongoing collaboration with students and campus partners outside of the clinical context.
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Types of CAPS Outreach
The primary aim of outreach and community engagement at CAPS is to build a community of care on campus through mental health education, stigma reduction, and spaces of healing that are inclusive and culturally responsive. We believe in a relational approach that necessitates collaboration with students, campus partners, and other UHW/CAPS staff. Below are some examples of the outreach services that CAPS provides.
- Presentations on mental health topics of interest (e.g., imposterism; stress management; mindfulness; self and community care).
- Reflect & Connect (facilitated spaces that are hosted outside of CAPS locations in which students can share reactions to community tragedies or hardship).
- Critical incident response (providing resource information and brief support to groups of students after the death of an MSU community member).
- Consultation with students and campus partners regarding mental health event planning, trauma informed practices, and more.
- Resource Fairs / Tabling to promote awareness of services and resources that support mental health
Who Provides CAPS Outreach Services?
Outreach services are provided through a broad range of CAPS staff and supporters, including:
- Student support (i.e. student mental health ambassadors)
- Masters-level, doctoral-level, and post-degree training staff
- Senior staff, comprising of licensed clinical social workers, counselors, psychologists, and psychiatry team members
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Make a Request
CAPS is part of University Health and Wellbeing (UHW), which has a Health Promotion and Engagement Team that tracks and disperses all engagement requests made to UHW units. Requests for CAPS outreach are forwarded to CAPS team members for review. Once received, a CAPS staff member will reach out to coordinate with you. Because we receive a large number of requests during the academic year, we recommend submitting programming requests at least 2 weeks prior to your event date whenever possible. If we cannot meet your request, we will explore other options with you. Please note that if you submit your request after 5 pm, it may not be reviewed until the next business day.
In order to create a safe space for dialogue and questions, recording is not allowed during Outreach events. Recording may be permitted if written consent is provided or if the host explicitly states that the session will be recorded and that by staying in the session, participants are consenting to the recording. Please discuss with an Outreach team member if you would like to record.
- Previous and Ongoing Outreach
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CAPS Outreach Feedback
We want to hear from you! If you recently coordinated an event with CAPS or attended an event involving CAPS, please complete this feedback form.
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Become a Student Mental Health Ambassador
Please check back for Fall 2025 application materials and due dates.
