T

he combined effects of 
the COVID-19 pandemic, 
academic 
pressure 
and 
socio-political 
stresses 
have created an environment 
wherein college students are 
often 
left 
feeling 
anxious, 
sad and hopeless. There is a 
greater need than ever for well-
equipped therapy services for 
students, 
but, 
unfortunately, 
services at the University of 
Michigan are behind the curve. 
Counseling and Psychological 
Services, the campus agency 
that provides a range of mental 
health services and information 
to students, faces substantial 
barriers in terms of funding and 
capabilities. 
On Feb. 15, in an open letter 
to 
Martino 
Harmon, 
the 
University’s vice president for 
student life, CAPS staff provided 
a glimpse at the problems they 
face in their line of work, from 
uncompetitive salaries to rising 
turnover rates. These problems 
limit their capacity to work, 
which is to provide an essential 
service to U-M students who 
depend on their assistance for 
a variety of reasons. A stable 
staff, sustainable income and a 
high-functioning 
professional 
environment 
are 
necessary 
for the mental health services 
on campus to flourish, which 
must 
be 
provided 
by 
the 
University. University President 
Santa 
Ono 
should 
dedicate 
his 
administration 
to 
the 
betterment of CAPS services 
and cultivate an environment 
that values the mental well-
being of all students, faculty and 
staff.
Nationwide, mental health 
practitioners 
have 
seen 
a 
significant increase in demand 
for services. In the same vein, on 
college campuses, practitioners 
have also seen major increases 
in demand for care, even prior 
to 
the 
pandemic, 
but 
this 
increased 
demand 
has 
not 
typically resulted in increased 
funding for campus mental 
health services. Harmon has 
stated his support for improving 
mental 
health, 
and 
helped 
launch a student mental health 
committee to outline a “broad 
institutional approach.” This 
is not the first time that CAPS 
has publicized its significantly 
increased demand, either; in 
2016, CAPS director Dr. Todd 
Sevig noted a 20% increase in 
students requesting services for 
the fall semester in 2015. 
CAPS does not need to be 
absorbed by another service, 
such 
as 
University 
Health 
Service; rather, the University 
needs to bolster CAPS’s ability 
to fulfill its present scope of 
service. In its current form, 
students often have to wait 
for several weeks to get a 
consultation for services from 
CAPS — especially during peak 
periods in the fall semester. 
Increases 
in 
the 
budget 
allocated to CAPS outpaced 
inflation in all years except 
in fiscal years 2019-2020 and 
2020-2021. In 2019-2020, CAPS 
experienced a 21% decrease in 
funding, while in 2020-2021, the 
unit received no budget increase 

whatsoever. CAPS is budgeted 
for under the Vice President 
of Student Life office, which 
received a minuscule budget 
increase of 0.2% in 2020-2021.
Although CAPS’s budget for 
the current fiscal year increased 
the amount they have to spend 
by 13%, this has not been enough 
to meet industry standards 
or student demand. Salaries 
at CAPS are uncompetitive 
with peer institutions. A 2022 
site visit by the International 
Accreditation 
of 
Counseling 
Services noted a “significant 
concern” 
that 
professional 
staff salaries are below similar 
positions at other universities 
and local and regional offices. In 
order to best retain quality staff 
members and to compensate for 
the difficult heavy caseloads 
they face in their roles, mental 
healthcare providers must be 
adequately paid. 
When 
tragedy 
strikes 
for 
students, 
CAPS 
is 
often 
the 
University’s 
first 
recommendation. In the wake 
of the Michigan State University 
tragedy, the first email from the 
University of Michigan’s Office 
of the President listed CAPS, the 
Faculty and Staff Counseling 
and Consultation Office, and 
the Michigan Medicine Office 
of Counseling and Workplace 
Resilience 
under 
support 
resources. During devastating 
and stressful events that impact 
students, CAPS is treated as a 
catch-all for short-term support. 
By increasing funding to CAPS 
to provide for staff needs, and 
therefore provide for current 
students, CAPS may become an 
even more sought-after resource 
when it is made more reliable. In 
order to decrease the pressures 
put on CAPS, and increase the 
available resources, students 
must be directed to other 
services already available to 
them, which — despite being left 
unmentioned in email sign-offs 
— are accessible through U-M 
health websites. 
Under 
“Resources 
for 
Stress 
and 
Mental 
Health” 
from UHS, CAPS is only one 
resource of many. To name a 
few, MiTalk provides online 
tools for students to manage 
stress 
and 
mental 
health; 
CampusMindWorks 
promotes 
post-mental health diagnosis 
information 
and 
resources 
with a searchable database; the 
University Psychological Clinic, 
while not paid for by student 
tuition, acts as a therapy and 
testing center; and Wellness 
Coaching 
supports 
student 
well-being in many aspects of 
students’ lives, from substance 
use to sexual health. Through 
the 
LSA 
Newnan 
Advising 
Center 
and 
the 
University 
Career 
Center, 
academically 
centered support is also an 
option for students. In addition 
to these U-M tools, there are 
also student organizations that 
offer community and mental 
health 
support, 
like 
Active 
Minds, PULSE and Wolverine 
Support Network.
CAPS 
cannot 
efficiently 
and proactively exist as an all-
encompassing office for mental 
health and student struggles, 
particularly when it is not 
meant to be used for long-term 
support. On average, students 

seeking services from CAPS 
attend 
3.5 
sessions, 
though 
it is unclear if one of these 
sessions counts as the required 
initial consultation. After five 
sessions, it is much less likely for 
students to receive continued 
counseling from CAPS: when 
students’ needs are “beyond 
CAPS’s scope of practice,” or 
past 
the 
individual 
session 
limit, referrals to therapists 
and health care outside of the 
University are provided, though 
not consistently. An optional 
standardized referral process 
could aid interested students 
in finding reliable help after 
CAPS, as well as increase the 
organization’s reliability and 
the overall long-term health of 
students. 
This 
Editorial 
Board 
is 
optimistic about the University’s 
recent decision to partner with 
Uwill, a teletherapy service. In 
a Daily news article, the U-M 
Public 
Affairs 
department 
stated that reviews from 450 
pilot program participants were 
positive; as Uwill is opened 
up to the whole campus, we 
hope that CAPS and Uwill are 
better able to absorb student 
demand. However, even if this 
development may lead to a 
better mental health situation 
on campus, it does not substitute 
for responding to CAPS’s needs. 
The University should still meet 
with CAPS and determine a 
competitive salary increase. 
A tuition-supported service 
made 
available 
after 
CAPS 
sessions would also be helpful 
for students. They could be 
matched to a stable and reliable 
mental health clinician that fits 
their specific needs without 
the concern of high therapy 
costs stopping them. While 
plenty of students seek only 
the 
short-term 
counseling 
promised by CAPS, referrals 
to longer-term care should be 
made consistently. Alongside 
referrals, the University should 
better advertise low-cost, long-
term possibilities outside of 
CAPS that would serve the 
interested student population. 
CAPS cannot be the only student 
resource listed at the end of an 
email, nor should it be the only 
option for U-M students, for the 
benefit of both CAPS employees 
and the students that CAPS 
services. 
CAPS is too often the only 
option for U-M students seeking 
counseling, 
but 
it 
should 
not be. For students without 
expendable resources to search 
for therapy services, and for 
those who do not want their 
guardians notified that their 
insurance is being used for 
therapy, CAPS is likely the best 
option. Given the centrality of 
CAPS in many students’ pursuit 
of therapy services, we cannot 
diminish the importance of 
funding this campus unit and 
supporting its clinicians. Even 
if CAPS cannot provide students 
with long-term support, the 
program should be allotted the 
resources to be effective in the 
short term. CAPS would not 
only be able to better support 
students by providing a first 
step in therapy services, but 
it would also serve as a more 
effective referral point for more 
long-term therapy options.

Wednesday, March 15, 2023 — 12
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Opinion

Debates 
on the 
Diag

Big celebration

Design by Edith Hanlon

From The Daily: UMich needs 
to capitalize on mental health 
resource improvements

THE MICHIGAN DAILY 
EDITORIAL BOARD

Y

ou don’t know how to 
talk to your international 
friend.
There 
are 
three 
categories 
of students at the University 
of 
Michigan: 
in-state, 
out-of-
state and international. Of the 
51,225 students who attended the 
University in 2022, a little less than 
one-fifth were international. So, 
chances are you’re going to come 
across some sooner rather than 
later — and I’m here to tell you that, 
for the most part, your natural 
instincts when you do are wrong.
Numerous studies, such as one 
published in 2016 by two PhD 
students at Iowa State University, 
have highlighted the alienation 
that international students feel 
compared 
to 
their 
American 
counterparts. As an international 
student myself, there have been 
numerous occasions where I have 
felt that I simply do not belong — be 
it in a classroom, a meeting or an 
auditorium. Unfortunately, this is 
a feeling I’m certain many, perhaps 
too many, can relate to.
I do not believe that this feeling 
of 
isolation 
for 
international 
students is the result of any 
intentional thoughts and actions. 
It is not that students and faculty 
from the United States are out to 
get us. If anything, I have found 

that the opposite is true: Many will 
go above and beyond to make me 
feel welcome. But the issue isn’t 
about feeling unwelcome — it is 
about feeling like I don’t belong. 
It’s a feeling that manifests itself in 
even the tiniest of interactions. 
The 
first 
mistake 
happens 
when, after introductions, they 
respond with, “Oh I also know a 
person named Rohan (i.e. another 
Indian name). Do you know 
Rohan?” Such a statement not only 
goes a long way towards making 
the other person feel like they are 
being put in a box but also makes it 
harder for you to identify them in 
the future; it’s not their name that 
you’ll remember, just the fact that 
they reminded you of your other 
ethnic friend.
The second mistake that many 
make is a bit more subtle but, trust 
me, we notice it. It’s the reaction 
people give when we adhere to our 
stereotypes. For example, when 
I reveal that I, an Indian, am a 
computer science major, there is 
a sense of “of course, that’s what 
I expected.” I understand that 
some of these microaggressions 
are not administered with any 
malicious intent, but their effects 
are certainly felt.
The most infuriating thing, 
however, is the tokenistic way 
in which international students 
can be spoken about. Tokenism 
in various sectors of society 
is a widely discussed subject. 

American TV shows, for example, 
have often been criticized for 
including only one or two members 
from a minority community and 
calling that inclusion, despite often 
making those characters one-
dimensional — often nothing more 
than a hodgepodge of stereotypes. 
However, this phenomenon is not 
limited to TV shows. I find that 
international students are viewed 
and talked about in a similar sense 
on campus — as if their value 
comes primarily from the diversity 
they bring.
An example of this would be 
when you tell me, upon realizing 
that I am Indian, that your best 
friend or your roommate is also 
Indian, followed by “They taught me 
how to make ‘insert Indian food’.” 
While that is a cool thing for me 
to know, I don’t think your natural 
instinct when I ask you about your 
American roommate is to first tell 
me what cooking technique they 
taught you. That is what needs to 
change — this natural instinct to 
reduce an individual to what their 
culture can bring to the table rather 
than what they as an individual can.
I’m not saying that there needs 
to 
be 
large-scale, 
institutional 
changes. I can appreciate that it 
is a mammoth task for students 
and faculty to, at all times, cater 
their actions to every potential 
international 
student 
group. 

You don’t know how to talk to your 
international friend

RUSHABH SHAH
Opinion Columnist 

Sleep can do wonders
for your well-being.

Getting a good
night’s rest?

Do you wish you could sleep better? Connect with 
tools and resources at U-M that can help you 
thrive — from wellness classes and apps to useful 
information and counseling options.

Helping Leaders Feel Their Best:
wellbeing.umich.edu

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

