BetterMynd’s clinical assessment is powered by: CCMH
Strengthening the relationship between campus counseling resources and the extended reach BetterMynd offers
Rooted in a shared mission
BetterMynd’s approach to clinical assessment is powered by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH), a global practice-research network of more than 850 college counseling centers, bringing the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS-34) into our platform.
Since 2017, BetterMynd has been built around one mission: to expand the impact of campus counseling services. This offering strengthens that commitment by using the same research-backed assessment trusted by many campus clinicians; we help ensure every student receives care that’s consistent, connected, and data-driven.
Clinical efficacy: The use of the CCAPS-34 empowers BetterMynd’s network of clinicians to provide targeted care with real-time data.
Institutional insights: Aggregated insights reveal trends among students seeking online care—often those least likely to walk into the counseling center.
Why the CCAPS-34 matters
The CCAPS-34 is the leading assessment instrument designed specifically for college students’ mental health. Over the last 25 years it has measured seven key areas of psychological distress—including depression, anxiety, academic distress, and social connection—offering a holistic view of student wellbeing in just 2–3 minutes.
With the most updated version normed on nearly half a million students across U.S. campuses (2022–2024), the CCAPS-34 gives clinicians a benchmark for understanding each student’s experience within the broader campus context.
This means your institution benefits from:
- Consistency: Students using BetterMynd’s individual online therapy can be assessed with the same trusted tool used in campus counseling centers.
- Continuity: Aggregated insights reveal trends among students seeking online care— highlighting those whose needs are too often hidden.
- Confidence: Regularly updated CCMH norms ensure that data remains accurate and relevant for decision-making and reporting.
Empowering institutional insight
For campus leaders, CCAPS-34 data provides a unique window into the specific mental health needs of your students who are accessing care online; those who might otherwise remain unseen, uncared for, and who may have acute needs.
What do you know about your students not utilizing your counseling center services? 53% of students said they would have done nothing or weren’t sure where to turn without BetterMynd in our 2024-25 Student Survey, a gap that CCAPS-34 aggregate data helps sheds light on.
These aggregate insights help inform proactive campus strategies, guide resource planning, and strengthen student success initiatives, such as:
- University A might learn that that students who struggle with disordered eating are utilizing online therapy at a much higher rate. This could help focus communication strategies across campus on healthy coping skills, moderating exercise, and improving relationships with food.
- University B might find that their in-person counseling center CCAPS-34 data shows higher problem alcohol use compared to University B students who use Bettermynd. This could help the university choose to fund more training for its counseling center staff on therapeutic interventions for alcohol and other drug misuse.
Evidence-based care, student-centered impact
Grounded in over two decades of psychometric validation and continuous norm updates (most recently in 2025), the CCAPS-34 offers a brief, evidence-based tool that allows clinicians to measure progress across sessions while maintaining a student-centered approach to care.
FAQ
Q: Who is CCMH?
A: The Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) at Penn State is a national research center and international practice-research network of over 850 colleges and universities. CCMH’s mission is to bridge the gap between science and practice in college counseling centers.
CCMH collects and analyzes de-identified data as part of routine practice when students seek mental health treatment at colleges and universities. The information is used, in turn, to benefit college counseling centers, administrators, researchers, the public, and most importantly the students receiving services.
You can learn more about CCMH on their website here: https://ccmh.psu.edu/
Q: Why have BetterMynd and CCMH developed a relationship?
A: Since 2017, BetterMynd has been built around one mission: to expand the impact of campus counseling services. By powering our clinical assessment with CCMH and the CCAPS-34, we are strengthening that commitment by using the same research-backed assessment trusted by many campus clinicians; this ensures every student receives care that’s consistent, connected, and data-driven.
The use of the CCAPS-34 will enhance the clinical efficacy of our services by empowering BetterMynd’s network of clinicians to provide targeted care with real-time data.
And BetterMynd campus partners will benefit from new institutional insights, where aggregated data reveals trends among students seeking online care—often those least likely to walk into the counseling center.
Q: What is the CCAPS-34?
A: The CCAPS-34 has demonstrated longitudinal reliability and clinical utility, confirming the value and strength of its psychometric properties.
The current CCAPS norms are based on 488,190 students seeking counseling services at institutions across the US from 2022-2024. Because of the size and diversity of the norming group, clinicians can feel confident that a scored CCAPS profile provides an up-to-date, relevant, and accurate evaluation. The CCAPS norms will be continually updated and improved as data becomes available.
The CCAPS 2025 Manual and CCAPS 2025 Profile Report are the most current versions.
The CCAPS-34 was released in September, 2009, updated in 2012, and the most recent norm updates occurred in January 2025. It is a 34-item instrument with seven distinct subscales that are related to psychological symptoms and distress in college students and incorporates the Distress Index. The CCAPS-34 takes approximately 2-3 minutes to complete, can be used as a brief assessment instrument at any point in treatment and, due to its brevity can be used for repeated measurements of clients at every session, a specific interval, or on a calendar basis.
Q: How does this help students?
A: The CCAPS benefits students by empowering their BetterMynd mental health professional to deliver even more personalized, data-informed care.
This brief assessment – which only takes a student 2-3 minutes to complete – helps students by providing early identification of mental health needs, tracking progress in counseling, and offering personalized insights into their distress (like anxiety, depression, academics), empowering them with self-awareness, all while using large national data to benchmark their struggles against peers, making services more effective.
Q: How does this help BM campus partners?
A: Campuses that already use the CCAPS instruments in their counseling services benefit in a number of ways. First is consistency, where students using BetterMynd’s individual online therapy can be assessed with the same trusted tool used in campus counseling centers. There is also increased continuity, where aggregated insights reveal trends among students seeking online care— highlighting those whose needs are too often hidden. Lastly, your campus benefits from increased confidence in the rigor of BetterMynd’s clinical assessment, with regularly updated CCMH norms ensuring that data remains accurate and relevant for decision-making and reporting.
And for campuses that do not use the CCAPS instruments in their counseling services, the vast majority of benefits still apply, including aggregate insights into students that are often hidden and increased rigor of BetterMynd’s approach to clinical assessment.
Q: Will this increase costs to campus partners?
A: No, there is no additional or increased costs to BetterMynd campus partners. The CCAPS-34 is included in your existing individual online therapy services for students and is a reflection of the high standard we set for our clinical operations.
Q: How is individual assessment data used?
A: At this time, in addition to clinical interview, individual data is used to support counselor assessment of student functioning in each of the subitems of the CCAPS-34.
Q: What happens to the data that is collected?
A: The data is visible for the student profile report and may be included in aggregate data to support program assessment by BetterMynd.
Q: Does a student have to complete the CCAPS-34?
A: Students are strongly encouraged to participate in the assessment, however, it is optional.
