Frequently Asked Questions

Who can utilize CAPS?

CAPS services are available to any currently enrolled student at the University of New Haven.

Can I come once and try it out?

You can. We work on a consultation model, so you can come and see if therapy is the right fit for you, and then work with your therapist on what will work for you moving forward, if you’d like to continue to participate in therapy.

What kinds of therapy do you do?

Our therapists offer several different modalities including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Person Centered therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy. We tailor our approach to the client and what will work best for each client, depending on their needs and clinical goals.

Do you offer anything other than individual therapy?

We offer an array of support groups, a therapeutic process group, and consultation.

What if I don’t connect to my therapist?

We would encourage you to give a therapist a chance to work with you, but if you don’t feel you can connect with or work with a particular therapist, you are able to change to a different therapist in our center. If you would prefer to see a therapist outside of CAPS, we can assist with a referral to a community provider.

What kinds of things do you work on?

We work on whatever our clients need to work on. We see clients who struggle with anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, adjustment to college, difficulty connecting to others, eating disorders, and many other challenges.

Do you bill my insurance?

Our services are included in the cost of tuition, so we do not bill insurance.

Do you share my info or that I’m seeing a therapist with the University?

Our services are confidential. We do not share who our clients are or what they are working on with anyone outside of the center, including parents/ guardians/ family, other University departments, etc. However, we do need to maintain safety and follow legal mandates around safety, and so if we are worried about a client’s ability to remain safe or that child, disabled, or elder abuse may be occurring we may not be able to maintain confidentiality.

Can I receive my medication through CAPS?

CAPS works closely with Shoreline Wellness Center in West Haven, which is a public resource that handles medication management needs for the greater New Haven and West Haven community. Students can schedule a medication consultation session with one of our clinicians and get a referral to Shoreline, after which Shoreline will reach out to the student and schedule an appointment with them directly. All appointments with Shoreline are held over Zoom, and billing for the appointment goes through CAPS, not through the student's insurance. Students may still have to pay a co-pay to pick up their prescription from a pharmacy of their choosing.

What if I’m in crisis?

You can call our main number, 203-932-7333. During regular business hours ( M-F, 8:30-4:30) you can be connected to a clinician. After hours, you will be connected to an answering service who can contact an on-call clinician.

Can CAPS help me get services outside of the University?

Yes, we can! In addition to Shoreline as well as a list of local referrals for diagnostic testing (available upon request), CAPS is partnered with a service called Thriving Campus. This is a network that has been developed to aid college students in getting connected with local mental health professionals. We have our own dedicated list of referrals catered to University of New Haven students, and it can be accessed by following this link: https://newhaven.thrivingcampus.com