Frequently Asked Questions

If you are enrolled at RISD as an undergraduate or graduate student, you can access our services.

Our services come at no additional cost to students. However, you would likely need to pay for medications if you are prescribed any by one of our psychiatrists.

No, we do not limit the number of times you can access our clinical services.

We are committed to maintaining your privacy and the confidentiality of all student mental health information. We will not release any information you share with us without your explicit consent unless we are required to by law or due to other special circumstances (e.g., if you’re struggling with an immediate risk of harming yourself or someone else.

While we do keep clinical records when we meet with students, these records to not become a part of your academic record.

A mental health emergency is a life-threatening situation in which an individual is threatening immediate harm to self or others, is severely disoriented or is out of touch with reality.

In an emergency, call Public Safety immediately at 401 454-6666.

A mental health crisis is an urgent but not emergency situation in which an individual exhibits extreme and immediate emotional or behavioral distress, is disoriented, has compromised functioning or is unable to be calmed.

If during business hours, call us at 401 454-6640 to speak with a CAPS staff member and schedule an urgent/same-day appointment. If after hours, call us and follow the prompts to speak to a licensed mental health crisis counselor (via our partners at ProtoCall).

CAPS business hours are:

Mon: 8:30 am–7 pm

Tues: 8:30 am–4:30 pm

Wed: 8:30 am–8 pm

Thurs–Fri: 8:30 am–4:30 pm

If you want to find a therapist or psychiatrist off campus, we can help. If you would like us to support you in this, please call 401 454-6637. As with all CAPS appointments, we can hold this consultation virtually or in person.

The first step in finding an off-campus provider is to confirm what mental health benefits are included in your health insurance plan. From there you can determine if you are responsible for a co-pay and decide what works with your finances.