CAPS logo - orange & white on black.jpg

Phone: 209.946.2315 option 2

Location: Cowell Wellness Center

Website: CAPS

Instagram: PacificCAPS

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at the University of the Pacific provides a broad range of therapeutic services including group therapy, individual, couples sessions, informal consultations, and online assisted therapy for students experiencing emotional distress, anxiety, depression, adjustment concerns, and/or more serious mental health issues. CAPS also offers psychiatric medication management, crisis consultation, and preventative outreach/education on a variety of mental health topics. For more information about all of our appointment types, please click here.

Pacific CAPS is now offering distance counseling via telephone or face-to-face videoconferencing to currently enrolled Pacific students who meet the eligibility criteria for distance counseling services. This service is available to clients assessed as being appropriate for this form of counseling.

What is Telemental Health?

Telemental health refers to the general term of delivery of psychotherapy through remote technologies. For Pacific, Telemental Health refers to using the telephone and/or interactive videoconferencing technologies for conducting sessions with current clients who are not able to attend in person due to the campus closures related to COVID-19. CAPS will hopefully be back on campus in January 2021; until that time, we will continue to utilize Telemental Health Services. For information on how to access our telemental health services, please click here.

***At this time, Pacific CAPS is not offering telemental health services to students who are out of the state of California. However, all students have access to our crisis telephone therapist at 209.946.2315, extension 3. Out of state students may also utilize our Let's Talk Consultations to help them find local support.***

To request an appointment with Counseling and Psychological Services, begin by completing our Appointment Request Form or by calling 209.946.2315 extension 2 and speaking with our Front Office Administrator. Only the person requesting services may make the appointment.

Kognito and TAO Services

Available CAPS Services

Crisis-Intervention / Emergency Sessions
Individual Therapy
Couples Therapy
Group Therapy
Psychoeducational Workshops
Let's Talk Consultations
Psychiatric Consultation / Medication Management
Consultation Services for Faculty, Staff, and Students

Crisis-Intervention / Emergency Sessions

If you are experiencing a mental health emergency or crisis, call 209.946.2315 x3 to speak with a therapist immediately. If you are in danger of harming yourself or someone else, call 911. For more information about our emergency / crisis-intervention sessions, please see When You Need Emergency Assistance.

Individual Therapy

We offer short-term individual therapy for students of Pacific. Individual therapy may help to clarify concerns, gain insight into yourself and others, and learn ways to cope most effectively or resolve problems. The first meeting with a therapist is structured to gain an understanding of you as a whole person, and the concerns that brought you to therapy. This allows you and the therapist to better set goals for what you would like to accomplish in therapy. Individual therapy works best when you have an idea of what you would like to talk about, feel motivated to do so, and are comfortable enough with the therapist to address your concerns. For these reasons, it is often helpful to think about what you would like to discuss during a therapy session and to spend time between sessions reflecting on your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Couples Therapy

The focus of couples therapy is the relationship between two people. Couples therapy is offered to students on a short-term basis to help address a variety of issues, including communication skills, conflict resolution/problem solving, and other issues that may arise within a relationship. One of the individuals in the couple must be currently enrolled at Pacific to be considered eligible for couples counseling.

Group Therapy

Group therapy provides an opportunity for small groups of students to meet and share common concerns, explore personal issues, and learn new skills in a confidential setting under the guidance of trained group facilitators. It is often helpful to hear that other people in the group are currently or have experienced a similar concern, and ways they are trying to figure out how to work through the problem(s). The shared experience of facilitated group interactions helps promote a trusting, respectful, and inclusive environment where people can feel free to care about and help each other. Through helping others, you can also learn to help yourself. Additionally, group therapy offers a safe environment where you can experiment with new ways of relating to people and expressing yourself. By taking risks, you might discover what does or does not work for you.

Psychoeducational Workshops

Wise Minds: This is a 4-session psychoeducational group based on Dialectical Behavioral Therapy that will teach crisis survival skills, help you identify and label your emotions, teach the skills to focus your mind, help you accept the current moment, learn how to identify and label emotions, and learn helpful strategies for asking what one needs, saying no, and coping with conflict in relationships.
RIO: RIO is a brief 3-session workshop series that uses Acceptance and Commitment techniques to help you Recognize the unwanted internal experiences that are affecting you; bring Insight to what those experiences are trying to tell you, and; develop Openness to either change the external aspects that are contributing to your distress or acceptance to changing how the internal aspects that affect you daily. For more information, see our RIO page.

Let's Talk Consultations

Let's Talk is a brief informal meeting to gain perspective or explore a specific topic with a therapist. This meeting is designed for students who want to talk to a therapist casually. This is not therapy and is therefore not appropriate if you are looking for help with a mental health crisis or a therapy session.

Psychiatric Consultation / Medication Management

Our psychiatrist is available during limited hours each week for medication management. Appointments to see her fill quickly, and we recommend scheduling an appointment as soon as possible. We have also prepared this PDF of psychiatrists who are local to the Stockton campus and accept the student health insurance (Anthem BlueCross).

Consultation Services for Faculty, Staff, and Students

If you are a parent, a faculty member, a staff member, or a student who would like to speak to someone about a student of concern and it is during regular business hours, please call our main number (209.946.2315, extension 2) and ask to speak to an available Counseling Staff member. When possible, we will return your phone call within two business hours. If it is after hours, please call the same number (209.946.2315, extension 2) and leave a message.

If you are concerned about a Pacific student and are uncertain how to refer them to CAPS, please see our When to Refer a Student page.

If you are a faculty/staff member and you would like more information concerning working with an emotionally distressed student, please see our Information for Faculty/Staff page.

If you are a parent/family member and would like more information about how to best support your college student, please see our Information for Parents page.