Counseling & Psychological Services

At CAPS we provide students with individually tailored psychological counseling about personal concerns in a confidential, safe, supportive, and collaborative environment. This approach views each student as the expert of their life, meets students where they are, and works to create trust in a non-judgmental environment.

The staff, trainees, and contractors at CAPS are committed to providing counseling services that honor the needs, strengths, and identities of Haverford’s increasingly diverse student community. CAPS recognizes how structural and systemic racism, societal oppression, and multiple intersectional identities not only have a negative impact on the well-being of our community but also challenge and complicate the models which have historically been used to define “mental health” and to guide treatment. As such, we work to be sensitive and responsive to differing needs that may emerge by not having just one set approach to the therapeutic relationship. Further, we intentionally and actively develop therapeutic practices and services, programming, and training that contribute to the promotion of social justice, inclusivity, and equality.

Accordingly, at CAPS our policies of requiring minimal paperwork for setting up appointments, not applying diagnoses or submitting information to insurance, and tailoring our availability to meet the needs of students by not setting limits to the duration of therapy, all reflect our understanding that students coming to see us are working through concerns which arise from diverse life experiences.

To this end, we are committed to promoting notions of well-being that are rooted in respect for difference. We are committed to maintaining a professional staff, including trainees and independent contractors as diverse as possible who share similar values of self-examination, openness, curiosity, and mutuality. As we recognize that this work cannot always be done alone, we encourage ongoing discussion, collaboration, and consultation with others in and outside of CAPS.

Similar to Quaker meetings, students are able to speak from their “inner voice”. Accordingly, students talk with us about all aspects of their lives, including issues pertaining to mood (i.e. anxiety and depression), academics, and relationships. Through this, we are able to establish personal and deeply empathic relationships that provide students with understanding, relief, and tools to help them navigate their worlds more effectively.