We provide psychiatric care for students to support their mental health treatment plan for a variety of conditions. Here is how we can help:

• Psychiatric evaluations
• Medication management
• Ongoing collaboration with your therapist or primary care provider
• Case management support and community referrals

Psychiatry services are just one part of your care. Many students work with both a psychiatry provider and a counselor as part of a broader plan for mental wellness.

Schedule a Screening Appointment with a Case Manager - Students begin by connecting with CAPS Case Management for a screening conversation. During this appointment, a case manager can help determine if treatment at CAPS psychiatry, Student Health Services primary care, or through a community referral would be best suited for your needs. We will support getting you connected to the appropriate resources.

Meet with Psychiatry - If psychiatry care is appropriate, you will be referred to a member of our psychiatry team. We will schedule an evaluation and begin building a care plan together. In-person and remote (telehealth) appointments are available, provided you are in the State of Vermont at the time of the appointment.

Follow-up Care - Psychiatric care often includes regular check-ins to ensure your treatment is working for you. We are here to adjust as needed and support your success.

If you are concerned about your safety, are experiencing a mental health emergency or suicidal ideation, please call your local crisis hotline, 911, or go to your local emergency department.

• The Mental Health Crisis Service for Chittenden County, VT - First Call - can be reached at 802-488-7777.
• Mental Health Urgent Care is located at 1 South Prospect Street, is currently available at no cost to you, and is open 9a-5p Mon-Friday (Walk-in visits are welcome.)
• You may call CAPS at (802)-656-3340 at any time. Outside of business hours, option #2 connects to a support line staffed by professional on-call counselors. You can reach someone to talk to whenever you need.

• Initial appointments with a psychiatric provider are one hour long and can be done in-person or remote through Teams.
• Follow-up appointments are typically shorter visits that are problem focused.
  • The frequency of these is based on what is appropriate to your needs.
• If you need to cancel your scheduled visit, you can cancel via MyWellbeing or you may call our office at (802)-656-3340 and speak to our front desk staff to get another appointment.
  • Online scheduling for psychiatric appointments is not currently available.
  • Please also send your psychiatry provider a secure message to let them know you had to cancel or reschedule your visit.
• It is important for you to arrive on time for all appointments. If you arrive late, we may need to reschedule your appointment to another time.
• If it has been more than 6 months since you have been seen at CAPS, you will be scheduled for another one-hour appointment.
• We reserve your appointed time just for you; we cannot offer it to other students who are waiting if you miss an appointment or come late. If you do not show up for your scheduled appointment, you will be charged a non-reimbursable $50 ‘no-show’ appointment fee.
• Due to clinical demand, it can take many weeks to get another appointment, so call as soon as possible if you need to make a change.

• If you need a prescription refill, please check the label on the bottle on your current prescription to see if you have a refill available. If you are unsure if you have refills remaining, please call your pharmacy and speak with them directly and ask if there is a refill available.
• If there are no refills available, please submit a prescription refill request through MyWellbeing with the following steps:
  • Log-in to your health portal and select ‘Messages’ from the side bar.
  • Select ‘New Messages,’ then ‘Prescription Refill Request’
  • Select ‘I want to refill a prescription from CAPS’
  • Complete and submit the refill form
  • Our team will receive and process your request within 3 business days
  • If you have an urgent need for a refill by the end of the day, please call our office directly at (802)-656-3340.
• There are two pharmacies located adjacent to campus, as well as multiple national chain (CVS, Kinney Drugs, etc.) and local options in the surrounding community:
  • UVM Medical Center ACC Pharmacy – (802)-847-2821
  • UVM University Health Center Pharmacy – (802)-847-3784
• Even if your provider is away, another member of our clinical team can submit refills.
• Periodic visits are necessary to continue receiving prescriptions through CAPS Psychiatry. Please plan ahead if you intend to travel or will otherwise be outside of Vermont for an extended period of time (e.g. winter/summer break or study abroad.)

• We use secure messaging via the MyWellbeing portal to communicate between visits.
• If you need to communicate with your psychiatry provider, please use this secure messaging system. We avoid other forms of communication as these are not HIPAA secure.
• Typically, psychiatry providers check their secure messages on the days they are in the office.
• If your issue is urgent, do not rely on secure messaging; please call our office directly at (802)-656-3340 and see the section above.
• If you like, you can receive text messages from our office to communicate appointment reminders, secure message notifications, and other important information.

• As psychiatry is a specialty service, there are fees associated with our visits:
  • Initial psychiatric evaluation (intake): $220.00
  • Follow-up psychiatric visits: $75 - $165 (based on length and type of visit.)
  • No Show Fee: $50.00
    • Appointments cancelled without 24-hour notice will be charged this fee
• If you have the UVM Student Health Insurance Plan (‘Wellfleet’ by Cigna):
  • Initial psychiatric visit is covered at 100%
  • Follow-up visits are covered at 80% with a 20% co-insurance, which will be billed to your student account at the time of the visit.
• If you have private insurance, such as Blue Cross, Anthem, MPV, etc.:
  • Your student account will be billed for the visit fee at the time of your visit.
  • UVM does NOT bill insurance for your visit. Therefore, the Center for Health and Wellbeing CANNOT accept direct payments from any insurance company without exception.
  • Billing account statements are available for print/download through your MyWellbeing portal. These can be used as documentation to pursue reimbursement through your insurance.
• Our psychiatry services case managers are available to answer questions and provide guidance on the University side of the billing process, however it is your responsibility to discuss coverage and reimbursement issues with your insurance carrier.

• Everything you discuss is confidential. Exceptions to this are:
  • If you give written permission for your psychiatry provider to communicate with someone about your care.
  • If your psychiatric provider determines there is an imminent risk of safety to you or someone else, then your provider may need to communicate with others.
• For our office to discuss your care or billing-related questions with someone outside the Center for Health and Wellbeing (eg. a parent or other provider), you will be asked to submit a Release Form - links to ROI to your provider through your MyWellbeing health portal.
  • Select ‘Additional Forms’ on the sidebar menu, then complete ‘Authorization for Release of Protected Health Information.’
  • Download, fill-out, and upload the form using the options to submit it to our team.

• There may be times when you need documentation from your psychiatry provider. This would first need to be discussed with your provider, and you may need to schedule an appointment for the review.
  • Please plan and allow at least two weeks for your provider to complete any documentation. If your timeline is more urgent, please send a secure message to your provider so that we can attempt to expedite the request.
• To send or request your medical records on your behalf, you will be asked to submit a Release Form - links to ROI to our office through your MyWellbeing health portal.
  • Select ‘Additional Forms’ on the sidebar menu, then complete ‘Authorization for Release of Protected Health Information.’
  • Download, fill-out, and upload the form using the options to submit it to our team.

• Find more resources related to academic success, mental health, housing, and wellness below.
  • Resource Links:
    • UVM Academic Support Services
    • Student Accessibility Services
    • Student Financial Services
    • UVM Center for Health & Wellbeing
    • Off-Campus Housing Resources