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A Warm Welcome from your Houston CAPS Team


AUGUST 2022: 

HELLO! HOLA! BONJOUR! NIN HAO! ASALAAM ALAIKUM! KONNICHIWA! GUTEN TAG!

Thank you for checking out the first official blog of TWU Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)! We are SO happy to have you here, as this blog will be one of the new platforms CAPS' launches! In addition to the blog, we are also starting a podcast and these two projects will be connected and together named: "When Life Feels Messy..."

These two resources are aimed for students, faculty, staff, and the larger TWU community to enrich awareness and exploration of mental health wellbeing. The goal for the blog and podcast is to provide digestible and relatable conversations about the many areas that impact mental health wellbeing while in college and life in general. Some of the topics we will be covering are:

  • identity development
  • cultural-based barriers
  • self-compassion & loving yourself
  • stress & test anxiety
  • suicide prevention awareness
  • healthy and unhealthy signs while dating
  • sexual harassment & dating violence
  • mind-body wellbeing
  • and any mental health topic or trend that is relevant!

To kick off this blog, we want to introduce our Houston CAPS counselors, who will be spearheading these projects:

Meet Erin Rasbeary (she/her/hers)! 

She is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate, under the supervision of Audrey Omenson, M.A., LPC-S, who serves as a Licensed Mental Health Clinician at TWU Institute of Health Sciences – Houston Center. She received her M.Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Lamar University and a Bachelor of Arts in English, with double minors in Psychology and Secondary Education from Sam Houston State University (Eat 'Em Up Kats!). 

She completed her counseling internship training at the Nick Finnegan Counseling Center in Houston, where she provided individual therapy for residents of the Salvation Army Family Residence, middle school students at Lanier MS, and adolescents/young adults at NFCC, as well as co-leading support groups “Suicide Survivors of Loss” and homeless LGBTQIA+ youth/young adults through Tony’s Place. Before coming to TWU, she was working for the Family Services Center of Galveston County and providing mental health services to students aged PreK4-10th grade at Odyssey Academy, until she realized higher education was where she was meant to be. 

Erin’s professional interests include providing person-centered therapy to individuals in education settings focusing on women issues, body image, depression, anxiety, couples therapy, LGBTQIA+ counseling/sexual orientation discovery, and religious/spiritual trauma.  What she loves most about her job is getting to create and offer a safe, trusting, non-judgmental space for students/clients to be who they are and share their innermost feelings and thoughts, advocating for mental health services on a university campus, and building relationships with a diverse student population. 



Meet Ashley Barrera (she/her/hers)! 

She is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate, under the supervision of Audrey Omenson, M.A., LPC-S, who serves as a Licensed Mental Health Clinician at TWU Institute of Health Sciences – Houston Center. Ashley received her M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of St. Thomas and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from University of Houston-Clear Lake. 

She completed her counseling internship training at the Nick Finnegan Counseling Center in Houston, where she provided individual therapy for residents of the Salvation Army Family Residence and young adults at YARC, serving as the Crisis Therapist for residents, and co-leading a homeless LGBTQIA+ youth/young adults support group through Tony’s Place. Before coming to TWU, she was working for The Houston Center for Valued Living, where she provided intense outpatient services, individual sessions, and a support group for individuals struggling with OCD, severe anxiety, depression, grief, and relational trauma. 

Ashley’s clinical and professional interests include trauma recovery, women’s issues, grief and loss, anxiety and stress management, LGBTQIA + issues, identity development, diversity, intersectionality of cultural identities, mindfulness, and self-compassion. Her passion for counseling is fueled by learning her clients’ unique stories and developing evidence-based treatments that best supports their therapeutic goals. She approaches therapy as a process that is designed to challenge unhealthy patterns of thinking and behavior while compassionately implementing new forms of self-understanding. She believes that integrating a holistic perspective of an individual is essential when working with specific client issues. What she loves most about her job is the time spent with clients, actively listening and engaged, building the therapeutic relationship, & helping them learn to live their most authentic selves.


So what services are available to you at CAPS as a TWU student? We love providing individual therapy, couples therapy, specialized support groups, and crisis services for our students! Sessions are free! (technically included in your student services fees). Below is a list of various topics we help students work on while receiving services at CAPS.

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Relationship Issues
  • Crisis Services
  • Low self-confidence
  • Sexual concerns
  • Identity exploration
  • Academic-related mental health concerns
  • Healing from traumatic experiences
  • Grief and loss
  • Sexuality concerns
  • Adjusting to TWU
  • And so much more!
**Important note for students seeking couples therapy**
only one partner needs to be an enrolled TWU student!


Let's stay you are interested in seeking CAPS services and would like to schedule. You can visit our website at https://twu.edu/counseling/ for more information about CAPS and scheduling. We have also created step-by-step guide to help you through that :)


How to Schedule Your First Appointment
  1. Confirm you are enrolled in at least one course in the semester
  2. Call or Email
    • Call: if you would like to talk to a friendly voice call our Denton front office 940-898-3801 or leave a voicemail with the Houston CAPS office at (713) 794-2059
    • Email: If you want a friendly email, contact us at the emails below
      •  RLapidus@twu.edu, abarrera17@twu.edu, erasbeary@twu.edu
  3. When scheduling your intake please note that you will be completing the initial paperwork 30-45 minutes before intake appointment starts, so take that into consideration when looking at your calendar; the intake paperwork will be emailed to you 
  4. Once you have your intake appointment schedule, give yourself a hug because you just engaged in the first of many acts of kindness for yourself!!! :)

If you're a newbie to counseling or just curious, the first appointment when starting counseling is called the intake session. Intake is just a signal word for a therapist to know where the client is on their therapy journey. During your intake, you and your therapist will talk about your current symptoms, important background and history, and work together to create a plan for your goals. At the end of your intake appointment, your therapist will recommended a number of sessions to meet your personalized therapy goals. 


Additionally, Our wonderful CAPS Department also prioritizes Outreach and Consultation through classroom presentations and discussions, periodic workshops, on campus pop-ups, and a variety of events throughout the semester. Check out our social media pages to learn more about what is taking place on your campus and any virtual events, as they are different for each campus. Lastly, stay tuned for next month's blog and podcast topic: National Suicide Prevention Month. 

Social Media

Check us out on Instagram:


Crisis Resources

In a medical emergency at any time, please call 911 first.

If you are experiencing a mental health emergency at any time of the day or night, please call Denton DPS at 940-898-2911 and ask to speak to the on-call therapist. DPS will take your contact information and a therapist will return your call. Our after hours on-call therapist responds to calls from Denton, Dallas, and Houston.

You may also utilize the following crisis lines:

  • Denton County Crisis Line: 800-762-0157
  • Dallas Suicide and Crisis Center: 214-828-1000dl
  • Houston/Harris County Crisis Line: 713-970-7000
  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
  • The Trevor Project: Crisis and Suicide Prevention Helpline for LGBTQ Youth: 866-488-7386
  • Veteran’s Crisis Line: 800-273-8255
  • National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233
***These resources provided can be found on the TWU CAPS website at https://twu.edu/counseling/




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