A Statement from CAPS
Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) is looking forward to the new academic year ahead. We have missed seeing you in person! It will be a time of adjustment, being together on campus, after such a surreal past few years. We look forward to connecting, healing, and rebuilding as a community.
As we reconnect with those we missed or only saw on Zoom, and also welcome new members to our Montclair State community, it is important to keep in mind that we each have had a range of different experiences during the past few years. As we look around and see our full or masked faces, we do not know what each other has gone through, including experiences of loss, trauma, financial challenges, mental health struggles, racial trauma and disparities, discrimination, fear, isolation, and/or emotional/physical pain. It is important to not make assumptions and, more than ever, to treat each other and ourselves with kindness, empathy, and compassion. There is so much we have not been able to control, but how we treat each other and spreading good, is something we can control.
We all need to contribute to creating a community of caring and support at our beautiful home away from home, as we enter this new academic year and season with hope and gratitude that we are all here together. We ask that you get engaged on campus and empower one another to be a part of change in our community and world, to respect and value our individual and collective voices, and to serve as allies and supports for one another. This unity makes us stronger and makes our voices even more powerful.
Please know, CAPS is committed to affirming and providing care for all of our students who have been directly or vicariously impacted by trauma and the difficult life circumstances associated with COVID-19 in the past few years. We encourage you to contact our office if you (or someone you know) would like support with coping and healing.
CAPS provides a range of services, including drop-in groups, which will offer an opportunity to connect with one another. Our in-person drop-in groups include: COPING 101 (Tuesdays 3-4 pm), Mosaic Women (Wednesdays 1-2 pm) and Connecting Across Cultures (Thursdays 2-3 pm). For a one-on-one consultation, please drop-in to Let’s Talk, offered five days a week. We have 9 times/locations, including 7 in-person and 2 Zoom options. We hope you join us and utilize the available resources as opportunities to heal and support one another.
In solidarity,
CAPS Staff
We are a department within the Dean of Students Office designed to provide free personal counseling and psychological services for Montclair State students, as well as referrals and consultations for faculty and staff. We are fully accredited by the International Accreditation of Counseling Centers (IACS).
Goals
- Allow students to make the most of their academic experience
- Help prevent future problems
- Help students develop to their fullest potential by learning new skills and resolving issues that may limit their performance
- Assist and support faculty and staff through consultation
- Promote wellness through workshops, presentations and major campus events
- Provide a positive training environment and close supervision for graduate students in counseling and psychology