r/Purdue • u/aTimelyManner • 9d ago
Question❓ CAPS protest
is anyone up for any kind of caps protest or group action or anything. ive been to caps several times for a mental crisis and it was absolutely abhorrent. no skills, low availability, can only help students who dont even have mental issues. on top of the fact that other mental health services like psychiatric help is basically nonexistent. I even reached out to odos for other ways I could receive help for my mental agony and they basically just said caps is the only option. i just dont get how its possible for such an academically strong and huge school like this to offer NOTHING of substantial value
I dont think someone like me is able to organize or do much, but i feel like SOMETHING has to be done
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u/TryingToBeReallyCool Purdue buckled to Taco, shameful 9d ago
Please do. I was at Purdue a few years ago and their incredible mental health ineptitude is a large part of why I ultimately decided to leave. I got perfectly fine care elsewhere. It isnt an issue with people, it is 100% and issue with Purdue and how they underfunded student mental health resources, compounded by an already overloaded local market due to see previous
There needs to be a push and/or consequences before the school will take this seriously
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u/CardFindingDuck 8d ago
I am not really up for a protest. CAPS and PUSH do the best they can for the limited resources they have. They are equipped to handle a narrow range of problems, but people come to them with issues outside of their scopes. If you would like to see more offered at Purdue, then petition the various governments and leaders we have on campus.
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u/eleanor7w 8d ago
Being understaffed really doesn’t excuse abusing your clients. Both things can be true at the same time: they are understaffed, and their employees also are in some serious need of more training. I don’t see hospital personnel’s treating their patients like crap even though they are also often understaffed.
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u/CardFindingDuck 8d ago
If there is abuse, then the individual therapists need to be reported to their professional board. If a student cannot get an appointment or cannot receive X treatment because it is not provided, then those who allocate resources to CAPS need to be addressed e.g. Daddy Daniels and/or the senate.
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u/Playful_Beyond6545 8d ago
The mental health care here is not good. I was struggling with an eating disorder for a few years, last November started recovering for (hopefully) the last time. It made me super depressed and I tried to end my shit over winter break. I came back to Purdue a week later for the spring semester and contacted caps about my attempt and me trying to recover from an eating disorder.
They set up an appointment for an eating disorder specialist. There is apparently a high demand for eating disorder specialists, considering Purdue has only one. So the closest appointment was ~ 2 months away.
The day finally comes. Turns out the specialist cancelled my appointment so she can attend a Purdue eating disorder awareness event. ?????
So we set up a new appointment. Another ~2 months of waiting. By this point I’ve found support outside of Purdue and things improved for me. I saw her mid April, all she told me was if it gets as bad as it was 4 months ago to consider going inpatient. Then I got sent on my merry way. Totally worth the wait! No other appointments scheduled after, just crossing our fingers that I don’t lose my shit for the 30th time.
I think if a protest were to happen we should advocate for better funding and staffing. There isn’t enough resources for the amount of students going here
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u/Pleasant-Wear2628 7d ago
Hope things are going ok for you now, BuddyBoiler!💜🫂
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u/Evening_Chair3570 8d ago
Involve GROW. They'd support such a protest. Plus, I think they have good resources and related experience.
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u/brookbarbeque 8d ago
I’m still in my PhD program thanks to CAPS and PUSH psych. CAPS is not designed for chronic issues though. I will say of my 6 years at Purdue only 1 year CAPS was 100% funded and I noticed a decline in quality the surrounding years when it was/is underfunded
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u/AustinScoutDiver 8d ago edited 8d ago
I visited Purdue a few weeks ago as a potential donor, but it would be more long term. They just do not have resources for more serious issues like trauma. The focus is more on student well being and helping students adjust to stress and getting connected. Engineering has started its CARES program. School of Science is relying on CAPS.
The down side to the visit is that Purdue suggested areas and arranged meetings, that I was not interested in at all as a donor. These programs are underfunded. A good Trauma therapist cost $150-200/hour for dealing with stuff like PTSD etc. CAPS can do group options and basic coping skills and adjustment to college life.
My undergraduate school has some programs that help with addictions. The program is also about job training for Psychology grads. The school just had a major shake up that directly affected the Psychology programs.
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u/pianofluteflute CS ‘23 8d ago
be careful, they might just shut it down instead
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u/ApplicationElegant45 8d ago
I feel like a proposal would be way more effective than protesting. Everyone knows the issue CAPS face when supporting students, simply restating em is merely complaining without a solution. If something like a protest can be organized, a proposal meeting can too
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u/mauravelous CGT '23 8d ago edited 8d ago
At the start of one semester I called CAPS to be evaluated for care since I had a recent psychiatric diagnosis through an off-campus provider. I wanted to go through CAPS to see if traditional therapy could help manage symptoms, and offhandedly mentioned medication as a possible outcome in combination with therapy.
They became extremely dismissive to me and made a direct comment about drug-seeking behavior and how they weren't a place for stimulant drugs (I have never done drugs, and definitely didn't ask for stimulants). They refused to book me an appointment, I cried when I got off the phone, and it took me until a few weeks later to build up the courage to try again.
When I finally got an appointment, I mentioned my experience with the office to the CAPS provider doing the intake. Surprisingly they actually raised what happened to one of the CAPS department heads, who personally came to see me for details, apologized about what happened, and did seem like they cared enough to take action and prioritized my care afterward rather than sweep it under the rug. I ended up being referred to psychiatry (i don't remember whether this is part of CAPS or PUSH). They helped me get on the right medications with one of the psychiatric nurses, while also getting me on a program to receive more sessions with a phd trainee.
Once I got in the care was good, I liked the people who worked with me and overall had a positive experience with CAPS, but the effort it took and responses I received during initial reach out definitely increased feelings of anxiety and helplessness for me for a while. I can imagine it deters those who need help the most since they may face more difficulty advocating for themselves alone. Unfortunately I think a lot of issue is CAPS is genuinely stretched thin due to poor staffing and funding by the school admin.
If anything I think the right move would be to protest whichever department decides on budget to CAPS to put more into funding (provost, ODOS, board of trustees, idk), rather than protest CAPS themselves.
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u/boilerfan9797 8d ago
CAPS has expanded a lot over the past few years. The need and volume has expanded with it. A bad experience doesn’t mean it is terrible. Counselors of any kind, anywhere will tell you that. There may not be a good match, availability, all kinds of things. CAPS is just a start. It stinks if they can’t help, but as many have said, reach out to people around you, if you don’t have that kind of connection reach out to an RA or professor or the dean of students office. People are here that care and want to help.
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u/isosceles1026 8d ago
Involve a student or community group . More people can get involved and its safer for protesters if it is properly planned
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u/AddictedlyPsycotic 8d ago
Not sure they will get you what you need. The Haven Crisis Unit across the river. Call them. They come meet you and have a place to chill that is real nice. 765-270-4363
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u/UnlivingPort5 7d ago
I would recommend involving YDSA in that. We're generally pretty good at putting actions together on the fly and we love having ideas!
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u/Ok_Raspberry4567 7d ago
I agree. I called CAPS because I wanted to start therapy. I was feeling extremely down and depressed but not suicidal which is why I didnt contact emergency services, I just wanted to start taking therapy and they gave me a date that was a month away.
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u/sigmaballs442 7d ago
I know some people have had terrible experiences at CAPS but I do want to make it known that it's not a complete lost cause.
I've been seeing a psychiatrist there for two years now and they also got me connected with a therapist over the summer. I'm doing miles better than I have my whole life and I have a complicated diagnosis that doesn't just involve anxiety and depression.
I've been through tons of trial and error when it comes to medication and my psychiatrist supported me through it and worked with me to get me in the best place possible. I've also done online therapy with multiple people through various companies and it was essentially useless compared to the few therapy appointments I've had so far at CAPS. They gave me a quick evaluation and set me up with this therapist and from the first appointment I could tell that he actually knew what he was talking about and cared about helping me.
I'm not at all knowledgeable enough to give you advice on this and tell you what to do or where to go, I just don't want people thinking CAPS is not worth at least trying out when it's free for students.
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u/Fantastic-Mouse-8139 5d ago
Yeah CAPS is horrible, I would encourage you to seek out external therapy if your insurance allows. If not, you can also talk to a primary care provider about possible medications.
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u/Calm_Entrepreneur_21 4d ago
Caps was at Tarkington hall the other day and they brought like 15 representatives and were trying to stop students to talk to them. I didn’t see a single student talking to them the entire time they were there. What a shit allocation of resources.
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u/Naive-Point6857 8d ago
People don’t seem to understand that being understaffed doesn’t excuse many of their actions and attitudes towards students who go there for help. I’ve encountered various therapists who work there who just obviously do not have the skills nor empathy to help even the most common issues students often experience. If you are struggling with homework or exams or minor school stress, try them by all means. Anything else you will find yourself immensely disappointed and I’d avoid them at all cost to prevent being re-traumatized.
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8d ago
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u/Hungry_Freedom_8664 8d ago
Just want you to know you are seen. Is there anyone you can reach out to?
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u/North-Database-922 8d ago
I'm sorry you dealt with this, and that was your experience with CAPS. I was lucky to have a good experience with them - my therapist there actually ended up getting their own practice, and I followed them out.
If you have good insurance, I would recommend looking into Modern Mental Health. They're relatively close to campus, which is nice for accessibility, and I've found them to be both accommodating and helpful.
Not what you're asking, I know, but I thought I'd offer some advice about other resources you could take advantage of in the meantime. Hope you find the help you're looking for 👌
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u/Majestic-Silver-380 8d ago
I was a RA in the dorms a few years ago and always had to recommend CAPS to students struggling. I told them that’s what my RA role told me, but then I was say that as an upper level student that I would recommend going off campus to one of the local mental health facilities over CAPS and tell them that’s they old heard that from a student not their RA. I saw first hand how CAPS treated students in crisis and they only were good for emergencies and students getting referrals to go to mental health professionals off campus.
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u/frizzled_receptor 9d ago
I share some of your concerns about CAPS, but I would suggest talking to student government representatives before planning a protest.