With apologies to MD's everywhere I would like to give a very short lesson on the brain and its development. I am hopeful that a short synopsis of some of what we know about the brain will then help us understand some of what can positively impact the brain in later, teenage life. So here goes:

The brain can be subdivided into three regions--the hindbrain, the midbrain, and the forebrain. The hindbrain is where autonomic bodily control is regulated. Food consumption, hunger, digestion, food search, breathing, various senses, etc. are regulated and controlled here. In general, the feeling of "I need, I will go get what I need" for physical well being comes from this area of the brain. The midbrain is where relationships with others are felt and where physical proximity is interpreted as good or bad. Touch with emotional meaning is interpreted here. To some extent, love is felt here. The forebrain is where cognition is accomplished. It is the part of the brain that uses rational argument, that formulates sentences, that writes in this blog and uses logic. It is the part of the brain that allows us to think about our existence in existential terms.

Various activities and life events operate more substantially on just one of these three regions of the brain at any given time. During early formative years, keeping a child away from food would activate his/her hindbrain and keep the child in a survival mode in ways that would adversely affect brain development. In ways, the child would become partly stuck in base survival activities. S/he might hoard food. S/he might run away and try to survive on his/her own. Another child who is given food, shelter, and water, but who is abused sexually from birth to pre-adolescence might then learn that sex is to be used in relationships to get what s/he wants. S/he might be promiscuous. S/he might always look through a lens of who has the power in any given situation and then try to align with the power players in the environment. Or s/he might try to always maintain the power position by intimidation and manipulation. That would be what s/he has learned from abuse and control.

The teens we work with at CALO come from situations where the hindbrain and midbrain were developing in abusive or neglectful situations. More...

Every so often we receive communication from former students and parents of students. It is nice to hear how they are doing and what they are up to. I recently received a letter from a parent whose daughter had returned home seven weeks ago. The parent was giving us an update and had this to say about his daughter, who I will call Julia. He wrote: “As of today, Julia has been home for 7 weeks. To date, we have had no ‘volcanic behavioral eruptions.’ Whenever Julia has been anywhere close to a meltdown, she draws upon the coping skills learned at CALO, which certainly includes spending time with her dog, Anya. We continue regular therapy with Diana Giest, the wonderful attachment therapist you met during her visit to CALO last summer, which has been helpful. Ken, it’s difficult to put into words how much it means to Mom and Dad to not have to be ‘hypervigilent’ in our parenting, to protect Julia from poor choices. At this time of year especially, we are thankful to you and your colleagues at CALO for their help and support. You do amazing work!”

That letter alone was quite kind and I am grateful for this parent’s words. That parent then sent a handwritten note from Julia. Here is that letter. Just click on the pdf below:

student EK letter.pdf (1.00 mb)

This was a “payday” letter and the reason we do what we do at CALO. Just wanted to share it with you.

Choosing to be a therapist is a decision which is rooted in a compelling desire to effect positive change in people’s lives as well as your own.  This type of career choice requires tremendous commitment and dedication to the emotional and physical journey of attuning and facilitating the healing process. This foundational belief has been the cornerstone of my therapeutic career, but has taken on new meaning through the privilege and experience of being a therapist at Calo.  

 As a former outpatient therapist, I was excited to face the challenge of building rapport with clients and then engaging in the traditional therapeutic process.  This was extremely rewarding and I just couldn’t even imagine a more rewarding experience existing, yet it did.  Becoming a therapist at Calo was an awakening to what therapy could actually be and how lives could actually change (clients and therapist).  I realized then and am reminded daily that being a Calo therapist is a unique and exceptional opportunity.  It is an intense experience which requires dedication, commitment, and hard work yet yields an abundance of return.  This return has been most evident in my evolution as a therapist, my increased knowledge and understanding of facilitating effective change, development of authentic and emotionally intimate relationships, and experience of adolescence and their families moving from chaos to safety and love. 

Being a therapist at Calo means that I am providing the highest standards for care and treatment while taking extreme pride in knowing that I am apart of an elite team which strives to implement the best quality of therapy.  I am keenly aware that being a Calo therapist explicitly implies that I am striving to evolve not only as a therapist but as a person.  These types of opportunities which motivate and produce authentic passion are really the expectation for being a part of Calo.  Becoming apart of this organization has truly broadened my perspective of being a therapist and what it means to participate in the most rewarding and meaningful of experiences, sharing in lives changing.

 It truly does mean something extraordinary to be a therapist at Calo.  It is a privilege which requires my complete dedication and produces a refinement of my skills, ability, compassion, and overall being.  Sharing and facilitating the emotional and physical journey toward healing is an exceptional responsibility and I can truly say that the Calo expectation is for all therapists to be exceptional.  Being a therapist has always meant something special to me, but being a Calo therapist means so much more than I could have ever imagined.