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Improving the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Experience

University of Michigan

TsaiNi (Ninnie) Chiang, Samyuktha (Simi) Neeluru, James Wu, Benjamin (Ben) Greenberg, Himaja Motheram

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Who We Are: ITS Interns

Junior

CS major, Dance minor

Sophomore

BME major, Music minor

Junior

CS major

Recent Grad

Psych major,

Entr. minor

Ninnie Chiang

Simi Neeluru

James Wu

Ben Greenberg

Himaja Motheram

Junior

CEng major, Writing minor

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Purpose Statement

The purpose of our project was to create a prototype of a modified Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) website to inspire changes in the current site layout and increase accessibility of mental health resources for UM students.

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Motivation for the Project

Unintuitive layout and language
Lack of awareness/promotion for mental health resources across campus
Inaccessible resources, especially in context of COVID-19 pandemic

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Objectives

Clarify procedure for accessing mental health assistance and streamline appointment processes
Increase visibility of underutilized mental health resources
Consolidate mental health resources for universal access

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Research

Michigan Daily articles:

part 1: grievances about current CAPS system
part 2: student-led alternatives to CAPS
part 3: comparing with other universities’ systems

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Methods

User Interviews

Interviewed students about CAPS website layout and website mockup to gather insight

Collaboration for Change

Collaborated with CAPS administration to discuss and implement future changes

Adobe XD Mockup Design

Suggested redesigns by creating mockup of our idea of an improved website UI

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Results

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Median Times for Finding Features

	Current Site	Mockup	% Change
Emergency Services	41 sec	22.44 sec	↓ 45%
Initial Consultation	26 sec	20 sec	↓ 23%
Navigating to FAQ	15.5 sec	1.5 sec	↓ 90%

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Mockup Feedback

Utility-focused instead of information-focused
Readability: conciseness should be emphasized
Increased organization

Hierarchy of information
Consolidating and categorizing resources
Streamlining processes

James

“After we’ve done our second round of interviews, this time, focusing on our mockup, we’ve received some key pieces of feedback:”
Featured services should be promoted on the homepage

“First, with regards to our redesigned front page, we’ve received positive feedback about our inclusion of buttons linking to essential services like couples’ counseling and mental health workshops,�and this feedback implies that students may prefer a utility-focused site over an information-focused site”

Increased readability

“In addition, while we’ve worked on reducing the amount of text on certain pages,�we received feedback that readability of our mockup can still be improved upon by being even more concise with text, especially on pages like urgent support,�where users are trying to quickly scan for resources”

Increased organization

“Finally, we’ve also received positive feedback about how we’ve reorganized resources on the website, such as how we’ve included a link to FAQ on the header”
“NEXT”
Contact information and hours
Hierarchy of information
Consolidation of urgent support critical resources
Streamlined appointment signup and urgent support

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Outcomes

Constructed high-fidelity mockup to inspire incremental changes to the CAPS website
Handed off documentation to inform and model future project efforts
Opened the door to future collaboration between ITS and CAPS
Initiated dialogue between CAPS and the student body about the website and its overall service

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Potential Limitations

Project has been handed over to new owners
Mockup is a work in progress that may require ITS to consult more sources and SMEs
Potential lack of resources to implement our changes

Ben

For potential limitations of our project-

When our internship ended, our group’s involvement with the project ended as well, and we handed off the project entirely to the CAPS staff. Since there is not a specialized group assigned to the project any more, work on the project may not move at the same pace as it once did.

The mockup is also a work in progress and was created on a specific software that requires some expertise to use. It is easy to access and navigate the mockup that our group made, but it is slightly more challenging to edit the mockup itself.

Another limitation of the project is that implementing changes to the website can be challenging given that the parties involved with the changes are very preoccupied with caring for students’ mental health during the semester, and will have limited resources to make the changes suggested in the mockup.

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Next Steps: U-M and Global Mental Health

COVID-19 and the rising mental health crisis
Increased relevance of technology-based solutions for mental health
Providing mental health awareness for our diverse student population
Societal stigma surrounding mental illness
Providing a model to inspire future related projects in different communities

Ben

So how does this all relate to global mental health?

During this global pandemic, mental health issues are on the rise and the accessibility of mental health assistance is more and more important, especially during a time when online access to resources is the only means to use them. It is also critical to get online services right for a generation that relies so much on the Internet in general.

This is why we strove to enhance the quality of CAPS’ online presence, and thus focused more on the technology aspect of mental health.

Doing so can ensure students’ easier access to mental health resources and being more educated about mental health in general. U-M has the largest alumni network in the world, and with this knowledge about self-care and mental health, wherever alumni go, they can bring and spread mental health awareness to their respective communities.

This is especially critical for societies that view mental health as a taboo topic. Though we cannot directly impact so many families and cultures, we think our effort is a start.

So in general, we hope that our project can be used as a model to inspire future related projects in different communities.

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Questions?

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Challenges and Solutions

Unexpected scope change

Shifted scope and reached a consensus with CAPS about action items

Initial lack of a sponsor

Became self sufficient and proactive with our prototyping process, while also seeking guidance from SMEs

Communicating with stakeholders outside of ITS

Established consistent communication with CAPS and seeked assistance from respected ITS employees to contact CAPS

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Survey Data Results

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Survey Data Results

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Survey Data Results