Mental Health and Wellness Policies

Psychiatrists Within CAPS

Fund the hiring of at least two psychiatrists within CAPS, in order to diagnose and prescribe students internally, with the intention of the University paying for this service in the future. CAPS, unlike most other universities' student mental health care systems, cannot provide psychiatric medication as they have no psychiatrists on staff, so students are forced to go to UHS facing appointment waiting times that often exceed two months.

Online Initial Screening

Work with CAPS to allow for the online initial screening to be done remotely instead of in person, which is required to be completed before a student can obtain an appointment. This system presents a barrier to students struggling with mental health and prevents many students from taking the first steps to bettering themselves.

Subsidize Mental Health Medication

Create a system where CSG subsidizes or refunds students’ psychiatric medicine prescription costs from UHS, in order to help students access mental health medication which can be incredibly expensive and is deeply needed by many.

Expand Embedded Counselor Program

Expand the embedded CAPS counselor program to every school and college at the University of Michigan, as well as into large organization and extracurricular departments.

Expand the Six-Day Rule for CAPS

Alter the six-day rule to extend the number of visits students can take to at least twelve in order to adequately determine the next steps in resolving mental health issues with counseling.

Expand Mental Health Academic Excuses

Expand the all-campus policy for mental health excuses to require professors to be more lenient. Currently, students need signed excuses, and even if they were hospitalized, students are still required to submit work.