What to Expect
**As the semester comes to a close, we are currently providing appointments for end of semester care and crisis intervention. Please call us at 979-845-4427 or come to White Creek for assistance. If you are in crisis, you may walk-in to complete paperwork and meet with a counselor. For non-urgent needs, our online scheduling and routine services will resume at the beginning of the spring semester.

Making an appointment
After you complete the registration information requested, you will have the option of scheduling a triage appointment. You will receive an email confirming your appointment within one business day. If you have trouble logging in or cannot find an appointment at your preferred time, call CAPS at 979-845-4427 to request help or email caps@caps.tamu.edu.
- Routinely, triage appointments may take up to 10 business days to be scheduled. At extremely busy times of the semester, the wait time may be longer.
- We provide goal-oriented counseling to address mental health and developmental issues. See our Scope of Practice document for details. Our average session number is 3 to 4. Over 75% of students average 1 to 5 sessions.
Appointments are available between 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday - Friday. Limited evening services are sometimes available for ongoing appointments in the fall and spring semesters.
The first appointment
Your first session is called a triage appointment. In this brief, 25-minute session, the triage specialist will conduct an assessment to get a broad idea of what’s bringing you in. The goal is for you to collaborate together on what kinds of services, either at CAPS or elsewhere, will be the most helpful for you. A triage appointment might feel more like a ‘game-planning’ session than a traditional ‘therapy’ appointment.


Getting the most benefit from counseling
Personal commitment to your own growth and change is crucial to success in counseling. You can enhance your development by being open and taking risks, such as disclosing information that is difficult to talk about, and by actively participating in sessions. You can continue the counseling process between sessions by thinking about what you have talked about and experienced during sessions, focusing on the changes you want to make, and working on specific goals discussed with your counselor.
Eligibility
To receive services at CAPS, students must be currently enrolled at Texas A&M University and have paid the University Advancement Fee. During the summer, Texas A&M students who are not currently enrolled in courses can still utilize CAPS services if they were enrolled in the Spring, are enrolled in the Fall, and pay a $25 bridge charge. *If you are a new incoming student, you will be able to register for our services on the first day of class. In the meantime, explore our self-help resources.
Cancelling or missing appointments
Keeping appointments and being on time is part of the personal commitment to counseling you must make. If an illness or a rare emergency causes you to be unable to keep your appointment, you must contact us and cancel the appointment as far in advance as possible so that we can offer your time slot to another Aggie. Since it is not usually beneficial to engage in shortened sessions, your appointment may be rescheduled if you are late.
PLEASE NOTE
A no-show/late cancellation charge of $25 will be added to your student account if you fail to notify us 24 hours in advance that you will not be attending your scheduled appointment. There will be a $50 charge for no-show/late cancellation for all psychiatric appointments. You may notify us through email (caps@caps.tamu.edu), telephone (979-845-4427), or in person (Student Services @ White Creek).
Confidentiality
No information about counseling is released outside of CAPS to anyone without a student's written authorization. CAPS makes no record of visits on academic transcripts or placement files. However, there are limits to confidentiality and they include the following:
- When there is the risk of imminent harm, therapists have a legal and ethical duty to do whatever is necessary to protect life.
- When a court of law orders a therapist to release information, the therapist is bound by law to comply with such an order.
- When any individual has reason to believe that a child or mentally disabled person or an elderly person is in danger of or is being physically, emotionally, or sexually abused, that individual is obligated by law to report such abuse to the proper authorities.
- Because confidentiality does not extend to criminal proceedings in Texas, when an individual is involved in a criminal prosecution, their file may be open for court inspection.
- When therapists become aware of incidences of sexual misconduct on the part of other therapists, they are required to report that to the state board.
Additionally, a student's counselor/therapist may consult with a supervisor and/or with other professional staff members of the CAPS for the purpose of providing the best possible service.
CAPS uses an electronic record keeping system and stores its records using state-of-the art security.
Accessibility
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodations are made in accordance with the law. If you require ADA accommodations, please indicate what accommodations you need at the time you register for services, or five working days before the program you plan to attend. Texas A&M University has a strong institutional commitment to the principle of diversity in all areas. In that spirit, admission to Texas A&M University and any of its sponsored programs are open to all qualified individuals without regard to subgroup, class or stereotype.
Social Media
We at CAPS do not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.). We believe that adding clients as friends or contacts on these sites can compromise client confidentiality and our respective privacy.
Need a Letter?
CAPS does not make recommendations to course instructors, academic advisors, or academic deans to excuse absences, allow make-up tests, grant incomplete grades, or to change an academic requirement or to take academic action. If you have received services from CAPS and would like your counselor to write a letter to your course instructor, academic advisor, or academic dean, please note that your counselor may write a letter to:- Confirm your attendance of counseling sessions or participation in CAPS programs.
- Provide a brief summary of your presenting concerns and the progress you made in counseling.
Emotional Support Animals
CAPS does not provide documentation to students that will support obtaining an Emotional Support Animal. While an animal may be able to provide comfort to students, it is not within our training or practice to provide documentation supporting the presence of a disability that substantially limits an area of major functioning to an extent that requires the presence of an animal.