The University of Houston's Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is committed to the promotion and affirmation of diversity through a safe and welcoming environment. Our declared mission in providing mental health services emphasizes that people representing the rich diversity of our campus who use our services receive respectful treatment. As one of the most diverse campuses in the country, we have a particular responsibility and opportunity to promote and live up to these convictions.

CAPS values the diversity among its staff and within the University of Houston community. We share the high value placed by the professional ethics and standards of the various mental health disciplines represented at CAPS on the dignity and worth of the individual. We seek to promote awareness of and sensitivity toward differences in gender, nationality, ethnicity, culture, race, sexual-affectional orientation, age, physical and mental abilities, physical size, religious/spiritual beliefs, class, socioeconomic status, military status, as well as other types of diversity. All staff members at CAPS affirm their respect for the dignity and worth of each individual who seek services here and strive for the preservation and protection of fundamental human rights.

We recognize that issues related to diversity influence other typical developmental processes such as relationships, identity development, acculturation, the maintenance of stereotypes, the concept of oppression, the behaviors of discrimination, and the beliefs of prejudice. Consequently, the CAPS staff members regularly address issues of diversity with students, faculty and staff through training, outreach, programming and consultation, and staff development. Our goal is the acceptance and celebration of differences rather than mere tolerance. Through these efforts, we hope to create and maintain an environment free from bias and harassment, and through mutual respect and trust explore our attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviors that will ultimately contribute to the growth and development of each member of the University of Houston community.

Land Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge that the land we occupy today has served as a site of Indigenous peoples, specifically the Atakapa-Ishak, Tāp Pīlam Coahuiltecan, the Sana band of the Tonkawa tribe, and Karankawa nations.

Only the Atakapa-Ishak and Tāp Pīlam Coahuiltecan Nations have survived colonization.