CAPS staff has extensive experience talking with students about a broad range of developmental, emotional and social concerns, which impact their experiences at Haverford.

Services are free of charge to students currently enrolled at Haverford and are tailored to meet the student’s individual need. We do our utmost to ensure they are confidential, though there are very rare exceptions when confidentiality must be broken. Students are never mandated to attend CAPS.

Some examples of areas of discussion include the following:

• • ADD/ADHD and psychostimulant medications
  • Anxiety & Depression
  • Cultural Diversity, Alienation and Identity Formation
  • Drug and Alcohol Use
  • Decisions about a Major and Career
  • Eating Issues
  • Family Worries
  • Gender exploration/Confusion
• • Grief/Dealing with loss
  • Learning Differences
  • Intrusive Thoughts
  • Rape & Sexual Assault
  • Sexual Exploration/Confusion
  • Suicidal Thoughts & Feelings
  • Traumatic Events (Past or Present)
  • Upset with Friends or Intimates
  • Use of Psychotropic Medication

Personal Counseling

At Haverford Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS), personal counseling is at the very core of our mission. We believe in creating a safe, confidential and supportive environment for all students. Drawing from the Haverford’s Quaker heritage, we view the counseling space as unique. One where students can both "wait upon" the "inner voice" of their private concerns, but one that also recognizes the fact that for many students, being able to wait feels increasingly like a luxury.

Accordingly, staff at CAPS work to meet students where they are in order to facilitate meaningful dialogue. Practically speaking, CAPS staff utilize various techniques, from across therapeutic disciplines and approaches, to engage students in a collaborative endeavor. Our aims are not only to help students’ understand themselves better but also to feel empowered to make changes in their lives. CAPS staff keep students personal developmental trajectories in the forefront of our minds, informing clinical decisions and interventions.

Schedule an Appointment

Group Psychotherapy

CAPS staff offers confidential group psychotherapy to students who desire it. Group can function either instead of individual psychotherapy or as a useful supplement to it. Notably, in order to ensure confidentiality groups are limited to 8 students each. Once these spaces fill up we will put students names on a waiting list. If enough students are interested we will open up additional groups.

Group psychotherapy functions differently than our personal counseling services. In group, students work not only with an individual therapist but also the other group members to address the issues that are bothering them. They talk openly about the issues pertaining to the group (i.e. social anxiety, or feelings about relating to other people), soliciting feedback, support and encouragement from not only the therapist but the other members. Through validating their experiences as well as other group members, students gain opportunities to practice different ways of behaving and develop new capacities to relate. In this respect, group has the potential to be powerfully transformative and therapeutic.

Prior to joining a group, students are required to attend an individual screening interview to ensure they are a good fit for the group.

• Schedule an Appointment
• Group Details

One Time Psychological Consultations

CAPS offers one time psychological consultations to students. These 45 minute consultations are intended to address a particular psychological concern. Accordingly, students utilizing one time consultations are encouraged to have thought about what is bothering them in advance. During one-time consultations, CAPs staff balance listening carefully to ensure they are understanding the nature of the concern, with active exploration of ways of handling and acting around the concern. Many students find that these one-time sessions are enough for getting help around a particular issue and feel that they benefit from being able to talk with CAPS about a pressing issue.

Daily Drop-In Times

CAPS offers two daily drop-in sessions (11-12 a.m. and 2-3 p.m.). These meetings are typically 15-20 minutes and are available to any student, whether or not they are currently seeing a CAPS counselor. While many students utilize drop-in when they are in crisis, they do not need to be in crisis to attend a drop-in session. Instead, we encourage students to attend drop-in session when they feel that they have a matter to discuss that day or at that time. During drop-in sessions, CAPS counselors work actively with students to address any particular problem and to strategize for ways to deal with what is immediately troublesome.

Psychiatric Consultation

A psychiatric consultant is available for consultation one time a week for students currently seeing a CAPS counselor, in an ongoing fashion (either individual or group sessions) who is considered psychotropic medications in addition to psychotherapy.

Urgent and After Hour Care

CAPS counselors are available after business hours (9-5) and weekends (Friday afternoon until Monday morning) to consult in emergencies and crises situations. Counselors are reached by contacting Haverford Safety and Security (610-896-1111) who then call the counselor on call. From there, the counselor reaches out to the student directly through a provided phone number. Like all services at CAPS, urgent care consultation is confidential.

Other Consultation

CAPS staff are available in limited capacity to consult with students, parents, faculty and administration about issues that are concerning or bothering them. Feel free to contact the Director of CAPS (Philip Rosenbaum, prosenba [at] haverford.edu) to ask about the suitability of other forms of consultations.