C.A.R.E.S. teaches new University of Iowa students how to recognize and respond to mental health challenges. Barry Schreier, director of higher education programming in the Scanlan Center for School Mental Health and clinical professor of counseling psychology in the College of Education, helped craft authentic dialogue and responses for the simulation and served as the module’s narrator, guiding students through each stage of the training.
When University of Iowa staff began searching for a replacement for an existing mental health awareness program, they quickly realized that no available option fit the unique culture and needs of Iowa students. Rather than adopt an outside product, a team with representatives from across campus chose to design its own interactive, evidence-based program.
The result is C.A.R.E.S.: Connect, Acknowledge, Respond, Engage, and Support – A Mental Health and Well-Being Series for Students, a new interactive learning experience created specifically for undergraduates at Iowa. Completed in September 2025, the homegrown program replaces the former Kognito suicide-prevention module.
Development of C.A.R.E.S. was led by a coalition with members from the Division of Student Life, Student Wellness, University Counseling Service, Orientation Services, Scanlan Center for School Mental Health, and Distance and Online Education. The team reviewed multiple options before concluding that a custom-built solution, leveraging the university’s strengths in counseling psychology, instructional design, and educational technology, would best serve Iowa students.