Mission & Values

Mission Statement

The members of Counseling and Psychological Services strive to enhance the academic environment of the university by promoting the well being of Humboldt State University students, offering a range of services that include counseling, consultation, research, education, and the training of new professionals. Counseling services are offered with recognition of each student’s individual and unique personality. We strive to create and maintain a community that is warm and welcoming and that values diversity, accepts difference, provides safety, and promotes intellectual and emotional growth while fostering personal and social learning and development.

Statement of Values

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) challenges each of our staff members with the responsibility of creating an environment that fosters personal and professional integrity, civility, respect, freedom of expression, individuality and fairness. We are committed to the promotion and affirmation of diversity in its broadest sense and place a high value on the dignity and worth of all individuals. We confront and work to conquer all prejudice and discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, race, sexual/affectional orientation, age, physical and mental abilities, religious beliefs, and socioeconomic class. Historically such prejudices have impacted the utilization and benefit of mental health services by many individuals, and we feel strongly about taking responsibility for changing this pattern. In keeping with this goal, as part of our unit’s mission, we require of ourselves a commitment to work toward the recognition and elimination of such prejudice and discrimination as it is detrimental to the practice of psychotherapy, supervision, training, consultation, developmental programming, and research, and to the development of effective colleagueship among staff members.

As an agency, we believe that it is important to maintain an atmosphere of trust and openness in order to feel free to explore and discuss our beliefs, attitudes, values, feelings, and behaviors in relation to others who are similar to and different from ourselves. We recognize that an examination of personal prejudice and discrimination and their impact on our professional work is best accomplished within a climate of safety and respect. Therefore, staff members are expected to support each other as we explore our individual prejudices. As a group, and as individual members within that group, we have made the commitment to face and eliminate our biases, prejudices, and discriminatory practices. We strive to create an inclusive environment in which differences of all kinds are respected and valued.

We hope, in upcoming years, to continue our quest to diversify our staff with respect to race, ethnicity, cultural, religious, and theoretical backgrounds. Additionally, we would like to increase use of, and satisfaction with, our services by students from traditionally underrepresented groups (e.g., with regard to race, SES, etc.). All of our work at CAPS is framed in the service of advocating for students.

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