| Welcome to the website for CAPS: Counseling and
Psychological Services at Haverford College.
About CAPS
At CAPS the staff try to listen carefully
to the concerns students have about their lives. Students speak
to us about all manner of things that upset, frighten, confuse,
thrill, sadden, or anger them. As counselors, we do not seek to
give students specific advice or directions. Instead, in the process
of talking and listening with students, we hope, together with the
student, to find better understanding of what factors contribute
to their concerns. We have found that with the emergence of greater
insight into problems and concerns, students see better what decisions
they want to make in regulating their own lives. Students often
appreciate the support they feel as they open themselves to talking
about or thinking about painful situations with the counselor.
We take the confidentiality of
our talks with students quite seriously. Students come to us by
their own free and private choice, and so if talking with us is
to be made more public in any way, that, too, we leave to the student.
We break confidentiality only in situations that to us seem to be
life-threatening, and usually, even in these situations, we do everything
we can to enlist the student's agreement that we let others know
of the troubles she or he is facing.
Services are available without charge to all full-time Haverford
students. College faculty and other Haverford employees also may
meet with us for a variety of reasons, including personal concerns
and issues of student development. When talks with faculty and other
employees are about personal concerns, we direct our efforts toward
finding an appropriate referral to a professional or service off-campus.
CAPS is located on the third floor of Founders Hall and is
open Monday through Friday from nine to five. Appointments are usually
made with the secretary in Room 317 or by calling 610-896-1290.
Sometimes students come in for only a single talk. Other times they
come for a few or an extended number of appointments. We try to
allow the needs of the student to determine this number of visits,
but we sometimes do help students get in touch with off-campus resources
when the student prefers such a referral, when there is a problem
that we feel we can't be helpful in addressing, or when the student's
needs exceed our resources.
CAPS has a psychiatrist available for consultation on a one-day-per-week
basis. The psychiatrist is available to students who are currently
seeing a CAPS counselor and who are using psychotropic medications
for adjunctive treatment or who are considering their use for this
purpose. Sometimes, however, students for whom psychiatric consultation
is appropriate may have to be referred to an off-campus provider
if the psychiatrist's limited availability does not allow the student
a timely consultation or if the student's needs exceed the Service's
resources.
In the event of a psychological crisis or emergency
after regular work hours, students can call us at our home numbers.
These telephone numbers are listed in the
College Directory and are also available through Safety & Security
(610-896-1111).
Here are some areas of concern that students often bring to us to
talk over:
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