Nestled on the ground floor of the University Student Center lies a beacon of light to help George Washington University students navigate stress, anxiety and challenging times around their academic life—as well as the world around them and beyond.
The Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) office, located within the Student Health Center, is GW’s primary mental health clinic with a dedicated team of counselors working to build a culture of support and connection with student well-being at the forefront of its operation.
Offering free, confidential services to all students—undergraduate and graduate—enrolled in at least one credit, CAPS supports mental health and personal development for students by collaborating with them to tackle difficulties that may interfere with academic, emotional or personal success. It uses an individualized stepped-care model that tailors treatment to students in providing rapid and flexible access to health and well-being resources.
CAPS also offers same-day appointments from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays at its Mount Vernon campus location, and students in crisis can be seen at any time the clinic is open. Many counseling centers have same-day appointments only for crises, but CAPS also offers them for routine appointments. The crisis line at CAPS is open 24/7 at (202) 994-5300 (option 3).
In recent years, college counseling centers are seeing a dramatic increase in usage, and new CAPS Director Laura Finkelstein, who has worked at five different university counseling centers prior to starting her GW tenure in June, was eager to join a team and school committed to helping its students in this capacity.
“With the diversity of the students, the resources available and resources being put into counseling, it was very clear mental health was a big priority with the Division for Student Affairs,” said Laura Finkelstein, who started her role in June after spending six years in student well-being leadership roles at Marymount University in nearby Arlington, Va. “That’s not always the case on other campuses.”
Resource availability is always vital, but especially during this time of academic checkpoints and unrest around the world. GW students who may be stressed or anxious about upcoming midterm exams or feel grief-stricken, shock, sadness or anger about the the horrific events taking place right now in Israel and Gaza are encouraged to utilize CAPS resources, in addition to other GW resources such as Office for Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement, Student Affairs and Human Resources, among others.
Students can also seek mental health care through virtual resources such as SilverCloud and Academic LiveCare.
“Our students often have a lot on their plate with classes, work, internships, families and social lives. As they do their best to balance everything while trying to process the heaviness of what is going on in the world around them, they may not realize that they need help or simply just don’t know where to start,” said Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Colette Coleman. “We are offering a safe non-judgmental and confidential environment for students right here on-campus to support their overall mental health, well-being and personal growth.”
A diversity of students mean a diversity of reasons students utilize CAPS resources. Taking student feedback into consideration, GW has hired or is in the process of hiring CAPS counselors focused on certain populations and identities. Right now, there are counselors specializing in alcohol and drug addiction, trauma, multicultural competence and, starting soon, the LGTBQIA+ community.
“There is a certain level of multicultural competence that all of our counselors have in order to be hired here, so you can get great care with a range of identities and interests,” said Finkelstein, who earned her Ph.D. in counseling psychology at the University of Denver. “With that said, there's been feedback, particularly from students saying that it would be helpful to see counselors with a specialty area in their particular identity, so we're moving towards counselors with some of those specialties.”
These identity- and population-focused counselors will also be active at events and workshops to make themselves visible to students.
The center can help facilitate a transition for students who had established care setup at their homes and are looking to reestablish ongoing therapy at GW—their new home away from home.
These students can do one of three things:
- First, they can stay with their home clinician—especially given that everything can be done virtually now. This is encouraged if students have a good relationship with their counselor and want to continue that care.
- Students can also transition to CAPS, which can be appealing if they want in-person services or free services, just because a lot of places don’t offer free services. “They could walk in and say, ‘I have a therapist, but now I’d like to transition to you,’” Finkelstein said. CAPS does not disclose any information because of confidentiality, unless the student signs a release of information.
- The final option is that if students want to stay with their provider but don’t have much in terms of privacy, CAPS will offer open offices so students can comfortably speak virtually with their home counselor in privacy.
CAPS is also offering a Resilient Minds Friday series, set up by Assistant Director of Outreach RaShonda Riley. These workshops offer tips and skills for anxiety management, stress, coping and depression.
“Some folks really benefit from individual counseling while others are looking for quick tips, coping skills, more of an educational setting for learning these things,” Finkelstein said.
There are also group counseling options, which will continue into next semester. Finkelstein said one of the top reasons students come into CAPS is because of social isolation, and these group sessions offer a way to focus on mental health while building community at the same time.
