Carnegie Mellon

Services for Students

Short-Term, Confidential Psychotherapy

Individual therapy sessions offer the opportunity to explore issues of concern in a safe, confidential setting with a trained professional. Every CMU student is entitled to twelve sessions per academic year.

Psychological Assessments and Evaluations

In order to recommend treatment options for students, we first conduct a psychological assessment. It takes about an hour. We want to understand the nature and extent of each student’s distress. We need to learn about the student’s presenting problem or concern, current and past experiences, and goals for therapy. We also ask about emotional, academic, and social functioning. Generally by the end of the assessment, the student and therapist will have developed a plan for treatment.

Psychiatric Evaluations

In some cases, a therapist may recommend that a student be evaluated by one of our consulting psychiatrists. The purpose is to provide consultation to the therapist regarding the student's difficulties and to assess whether medication might be helpful in conjunction with psychotherapy. Prescriptions may be filled through Student Health Services. The cost of the initial psychiatric evaluation session is covered by the university. Follow-up visits are the student's financial responsibility. Since student insurance coverage varies, the fee and any co-payment should be discussed with the psychiatrist at the time of the initial evaluation. Students seen by a CAPS psychiatrist must be seeing a CAPS therapist concurrently.

Group Psychotherapy

In group therapy, a small number of students meet with a therapist to talk about their concerns and experiences. Through active participation in the group, students become more self-aware and learn to identify thoughts and feelings that get evoked in a variety of life situations. Group sessions are confidential.

Consultation and Referral Services

Sometimes students prefer to see someone privately, off campus, rather than at the Counseling Center. Also, some students want to continue therapy after completing their 12 sessions or after leaving CMU. CAPS maintains an up-to-date referral list for the Pittsburgh area, for various parts of the United States, and even internationally.

CAPS therapists will help students choose an appropriate referral given their preferences, resources, etc. If you, as a student, are not covered by the Student Health Insurance, it is helpful first to contact your insurance company to ask about coverage, network providers, and any other benefits/restrictions. If you are not sure what to ask, a therapist can advise you.

Support for Student Organizations

CAPS is available to talk with small groups about any kind of emotional or psychological difficulty faced by CMU’s student organizations. We can address a variety of issues, such as:

• stress management
• bereavement and loss
• trauma
• problems with depression or anxiety
• substance abuse
• suicide
• eating disorders
• relationships
• sexual identity

To talk about how we might be of help in any of these or other areas, please call 412-268-2922.