Outreach Services
We are receiving a high volume of requests at this time and sincerely appreciate your patience as we work to support the MSU community. Whenever possible, please submit requests 48 hours in advance of your event/need, to increase the possibility that we will be able to staff it. Please note that if you submit your request after 5pm, it may not be reviewed until the next business day.
We offer a wide range of programming through Outreach Services, including services for your student group, academic department, residential hall, campus or community program.
Listening spaces offer a place for students to process community tragedies or hardship together.
Common Workshop topics include:
- Overview of Counseling & Psychiatric Services (CAPS) services
- Stress Management
- Suicide Prevention and Response Training Ally Network (S.P.A.R.T.A.N.)
After making a request, you can expect to be contacted by a member of our outreach team to further review your request. Because we receive a large number of requests during the academic year, we recommend submitting programming requests at least 3 weeks prior to your event date. If we cannot meet your request, we can likely help explore alternative options.
Please note that in order to create a safe space for dialogue and questions, recording is not allowed during Outreach sessions. 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.
Visit our Services page for more information on the many services we provide for MSU students. This information can be used as a resource to share CAPS services at this time. If you are in need of critical incident/crisis support, please contact our 24/7 CAPS Crisis Line at (517) 355-8270, ext. 1 for crisis support.
What is Outreach?
Outreach is our means of reaching outside the physical walls of the CAPS center and engaging in the lives of those connected to our MSU community — students, parents/guardians, faculty, staff, administrators and surrounding communities.
The outreach component of our services includes a variety of programming and consultation activities in which counseling staff members are involved in awareness, education, prevention and collaboration. We do this by providing informational services, workshops, campus-wide programming, consultation and student peer support, among other ways of engaging our community.
Outreach Philosophy
In keeping with the philosophy that ‘multiculturally-focused [and] inclusive,’ outreach is necessarily culturally sensitive and racially responsive, with multiple outlets for collaboration and community engagement.
In line with our public health and wellness framework, outreach is a proactive, developmental and necessary intervention in prevention, focused on building awareness, reducing stigma and increasing help-seeking behavior on our campus.
Finally, outreach efforts modeled after our MSU Mission are “innovative, research-driven and lead to a better quality of life.”
Who Provides Outreach Services?
Outreach services are provided through a broad range of CAPS staff and supporters, including:
- Student support (i.e. student volunteers, peer support, Active Minds membership)
- Masters- and doctoral-level intern staff
- Senior clinical staff, including those with state-issued licenses to provide psychological, counseling, marriage & family, social work or psychiatric services.
Any member of the CAPS Center can be involved in programming and consultation, including specialized outreach services provided by and in connection with these groups:
- Core members of the Multi-Ethnic Counseling Center Alliance (MECCA)
- Liaisons with the Department of Residence Education and Housing Services (REHS)