SAPAC Advocacy
At SAPAC, our professional case managers, advocates, and advanced U-M Master of Social Work interns support students, faculty, and staff.
The Survivor Care Team
The Survivor Care Team, a new collaboration between CAPS & SAPAC, helps U-M student victims and survivors process their experience with sexual assault, sexual harassment, intimate partner violence, abuse or stalking. We're here to offer crisis services, resources and support, and we're proud to serve as advocates and counselors along your healing journey.
How does it work?
Our model is grounded in a holistic healing approach. Whether you’re looking for therapy, advocacy, a support or therapy group, or any combination of those, we’ll come up with a support plan designed especially for you. You can start with SAPAC or CAPS, and we will help you access resources in both offices.
How do I ask for help?
You can call, email, or stop by either office. Ask for help in whatever way works for you. We will offer empathy, validation and support and, if you like, we can work with you to create a plan that feels right for your specific healing journey. If you’d like to revise the plan at any time, no problem.
SAPAC
Office: 734.764.7771
After Hours Crisis Line: 734.936.3333
CAPS
Office: 734.764.8312
After Hours Urgent Support: 734.764.8312
What kind of help do you offer?
Academic Advocacy
Connecting you with professors and GSI’s to request extensions, alternative assignments, excused absences, etc.
Medical Advocacy
Helping you take steps to seek post-assault care at a hospital or health center, connecting you with those resources, and supporting you through your experience at the hospital or health center.
Housing Advocacy & Safety Planning
Assisting you to secure new housing, on or off campus. We can also help you create a safety plan, and coordinate with other supportive and protective resources to help keep you safe.
Reporting/Investigation Support
Helping you understand your reporting options. We can also accompany you through both university and police processes, and connect you with an investigator or officer. We will support you throughout the entire investigative process.
SAPAC Peer Led Support Groups
We offer confidential, drop-in healing spaces for U-M student survivors. These peer-led groups aim to facilitate resilience, reconnection, stress relief, and anxiety reduction. Currently we offer a general Peer Led Support Group (PLSG) and a group for people of color (POC PLSG).
CAPS Therapy
At CAPS, our mental health care providers are specifically trained to support student survivors of sexual violence through trauma-informed care.
Same-Day Crisis Appointments
The CAPS Counselor on Duty provides services for immediate support: e.g. a current abusive relationship, a recent or past sexual assault, an increase in mental health symptoms related to experiences of violence, etc. Services are provided on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Individual Therapy
CAPS uses a trauma-informed approach to treating symptoms and offering therapeutic support. We help you process your experience and explore the mental health impact.
CAPS Therapy Group
A Journey Towards Healing is a therapist-led group for students who have experienced sexual assault or abuse and/or relationship violence; it’s a collective healing space that offers support, coping strategies, and an opportunity to move forward together.
CAPS Case Management
Case managers at CAPS are therapists with extra knowledge and experience navigating health insurance and helping students connect with community providers and additional resources. Case management services are often helpful for students with insurance challenges.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if the harm I experienced happened off-campus, or before I came to U-M?
That’s okay. Wherever and whenever it happened, the Survivor Care Team is here to support you.
I don’t think I want to report my experience. Can I still be seen?
Absolutely. For some people, reporting to the university or police is a part of their pathway forward; for others, it isn’t. If you’re considering reporting or just want to learn more, SAPAC can walk you through what the investigative process looks like—but you don’t have to report to be able to receive support from SAPAC or CAPS.
Are there any services that both SAPAC and CAPS provide?
Yes! While CAPS provides therapeutic support and SAPAC provides case management and advocacy support, a big part of what we all do on the Survivor Care Team is help you process what happened, and what you’re thinking and feeling. We’re ready to provide validation, empathy, support, coping strategies and grounding techniques; we can help you as you define your experience, choose if and how you want to disclose your experience to loved ones, and connect you with additional resources to support you along your healing journey.
Speaking of defining my experience, I don’t know what to call what happened to me. Do I have to know what to call it, or use certain words?
Absolutely not. We can support you in finding whatever terminology resonates with you. For some, the term “sexual assault” makes sense; for others, it’s boundary-crossing; and for others, it’s “that bad thing that happened to me” or “the incident.” However you do (or don’t) define your experience is your call.
Can I request to meet with someone who shares my identities?
Yes. We certainly understand that seeing yourself represented in your care provider can make services way more accessible. View our list of CAPS Survivor Care Team service providers, and feel free to make a specific request when making a SAPAC appointment.
What fees are associated with accessing CAPS or SAPAC services?
CAPS and SAPAC services are free for students. SAPAC services are also free for staff and faculty.
Is this confidential?
Yes. CAPS and SAPAC are both confidential resources, meaning we do not disclose your information without your permission.
What is trauma-informed care?
Trauma-informed care takes into account a person’s experience of trauma, and tailors treatment to meet the client where they are in their healing process. Safety, transparency, collaboration, and empowerment are all important parts of trauma-informed care.