COVID-19 UPDATE: Changes to office-specific information, including contact info and hours of operations, are in progress and will be made as needed throughout the spring semester. To request an update to content on this site, please email support@risdwebsite.zendesk.com.

info.risd.edu

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)

Spring 2020 information

General office hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 am–4:30 pm
Primary phone: 401 454–6637
Primary email: counserv@risd.edu

For detailed information from Health Services and CAPS related to COVID-19, visit the Health and Wellness website’s COVID-19 FAQs and Resources page.

All RISD students, domestic and international, can seek consultation and support services from CAPS during this time. For urgent support, call us at 401 454–6637. CAPS also provides after-hours support when the office closed.

Telecounseling: For students located in Rhode Island and New York, CAPS also offers the option of telecounseling. This is a means of providing a wide array of remote mental healthcare services through various forms of technology, including but not limited to: phone, video conferencing, digital applications, computer-based software and/or other electronic means. We are also working to expand telecounseling services to other states as their laws allow.

Please note that, prior to your first telecounseling session, you must read, understand and agree to the terms outlined in the Telecounseling Informed Consent Form.

RISD’s Office of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) provides a range of mental health services to help 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.

Staff

Nikole Barnes
Assistant Director, Training

Nisha Sundararaj
Case Manager

Damion Vania
Clinical Counselor

​Erin Unkefer
Intercultural Specialist, Staff Psychologist

Roisin O’Mara
Staff Psychologist

Yumin Tan
Intercultural Specialist

Hal Woodcome
Attending Psychiatrist

Joanne Duval
Counseling Services Assistant