Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) provides a range of mental health services to help RISD students improve emotional, interpersonal, and academic functioning, including:

individual and group counseling, at no additional cost, to any matriculated undergraduate or graduate student.
recommendations to off-campus providers.
consultation to faculty, staff, and parents who may have concerns about a student.
outreach events, and training, related to educating and improving mental health within the college community.
a counselor on call (for after-hours mental health emergencies).
psychiatric services (upon recommendation from a CAPS counselor).

Emotional well being is essential to personal development and integral to the creative process. Counseling provides a space to address issues that may be interfering with your work. Seeing a counselor helps you respond to the situation before it escalates.

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All appointments with CAPS can be in person or through telecounseling. Students are encouraged to call CAPS directly at 401 454-6637.

Students must be escorted to the CAPS office. Please call the office when you arrive in the lobby.

For non-crisis referrals: Please encourage students to contact us directly to schedule a needs assessment appointment. Offer to let the student call from your office; calls made outside of office hours will be connected with our after-hours support.

CAPS provider info

last updated: 11/25/24

Director, Deborah Levans, LICSW
Pronouns: She/Her
Education: BSW, St. Thomas University; MSW, Boston College
Clinical interest/specializations: Identity (Including racial, gender) International Students, First Generation Students, (Traumatic) Grief, Trauma, Eating Disorders
Languages spoken: English, French, Spanish

Psychiatrist, Dr. Harold Woodcome, MD
Pronouns: He/Him
Education: Brown University, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons
Psychiatry Residency: Brown University/Butler Hospital
Areas of Interest: Young Adult Psychiatry
Languages spoken: English

Associate Director, Training, Julie Woulfe
Pronouns: She/Her
Education: BA, Carleton College; MS, University of Wisconsin-Madison; PhD, Boston College
Clinical interest/specializations: Relational, humanistic and social justice-oriented approaches to therapy. LGBTQIA+ mental health, intersection of opression-related stress and interpersonal trauma.
Languages spoken: English

Associate Director, Clinical Care, Sherrie Bruner
Pronouns: They/Them
Education: VS, Johnson University; MA, Johnson University; PhD, University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Clinical interests/specializations: Relational Cultural Theory and Internal Family Systems, LGBTQIA+ mental health, Neurodiversity (Autism/ADHD), and Religious/Spiritual Trauma
Languages spoken: English

Staff Counselor III, Kristina Lavoie
Pronouns: Sher/Her
Education: BFA, RISD; AS, Community College of Rhode Island; MSW, Rhode Island College
Clinical interests/specializations: Polyvagal theory, trauma treatment including EMDR, neurobiology of human behavior, ADHD, human rights, women's health, public health, law.
Languages spoken: English

Intercultural Specialist, Lilyanah Gomes, LMHC-A
Pronouns: She/Her
Education: BS, Howard University; MA, Antioch University
Clinical interests/specializations: post-modern, process-oriented, & person-centered approaches, social justice and sociocultural attunement, embodied living, mindfulness, somatics and body work; serving students with diverse intersecting identities, first generation students, BIPOC students
Languages spoken: English

Intercultural Specialist, Maria Toprani, LICSW
Pronouns: She/Her
Education: BA, Hobart and William Smith Colleges; MSW, Rhode Island College
Clinical interests/specializations: Trauma-Informed Care; Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Mindfulness Meditation; Utilizing an Authentic, Strengths-Based, Collaborative Approach; Working with Immigrants, First Generation, BIPOC, Intersecting Identities; Supporting Students with Anxiety and Mood Disorders, Chronic Illness and Grief
Languages spoken: English

Psychiatric Resident, Megan Wendolowski
Pronouns: She/Her
Education: BS, Boston College; MD, New York Medical College
Psychiatry Residency: Brown University
Clinical interest/specializations: Child and adolescent psychiatry
Languages spoken: English

Part Time Counselor, Mike Petrarca, LMHC
Pronouns: He/Him
Education: BA, Suffolk University; MA/CAGS, Rhode Island College
Clinical interests/specializations: OCD/anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, ADHD, existential issues, autism spectrum disorders
Languages spoken: English

Part-Time Counselor, Yatyee Lee, LMHC
Pronouns: She/Her
Education: BSSc, the Chinese University of Hong Kong; MA, Rhode Island College
CAGS, Rhode Island College
Clinical interest/specializations: Adjustment, acculturation, relationship, depression, anxiety
Languages spoken: English, Mandarin, Cantonese

Intern, Brian Kearney
Pronouns: He/Him
Education: BA, University of Galway; MFA, Brown University
Clinical interest/specializations: psychodynamic psychotherapy, emotion-focused therapy, mindfulness, expressive arts therapy, working with anxiety and perfectionism, artists' and immigrants' mental health.

Languages spoken: English