Clinical Therapy

What is Calo’s Clinical Foundation?

Clinical interventions used at Calo are all conducted with Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, known as DDP, in mind. This is a therapeutic approach specific to addressing developmental trauma, in which the therapist helps the parent-child relationship heal and grow. DDP has been a widely accepted approach for over 20 years, and implements PACE- playfulness, acceptance, curiosity, and empathy.

Getting more specific, Calo’s proprietary therapeutic model is CASA, which is based on the belief that most emotional and behavioral disruptions in children are best addressed through attachment/relationship interventions. The model stands on principles of commitment, acceptance, security, and attunement. Click HERE to learn more about our CASA therapeutic model.

What Clinical Work is done?

PSYCHIATRY

Calo employs a full-time, on-site psychiatrist, Dr. Nair who is on campus five days per week. The doctor meets with each student a minimum of once a month, facilitating medication management during treatment. Additionally, to oversee medication distribution to all students, we always maintain a registered nurse on campus. This 24/7 nursing availability helps ensure medication safety.

Individual & Family Therapy

Each Calo student receives both one hour of individual therapy per week and a one-hour family therapy session per week. These are conducted by the primary treating therapist, who has a master’s degree or higher. At times, a crisis or impasse may change the frequency or duration of therapy. Interventions and modalities are consistent with Calo’s clinical model and are tailored to meet individual student and family needs. During family or individual sessions, the therapist may employ other resources such as canine therapy, heart rate variability (heart training), or Brainspotting.

Group Therapy

Research has shown that group therapy with adolescents is highly effective; primarily because adolescents pay overwhelming attention to their peer group and try to emulate group behavior. During adolescence, the persuasion of the peer group is often far more influential than parental advice and direction. Due to the importance of the peer component to treatment, Calo students are exposed to a variety of group therapies. Groups led by therapists are often more formal, specializing in clinical topics or issues. Staff or student-led accountability groups, power groups, or transition groups are also very helpful in keeping the student community honest, open, and regulated. Therapist-led group sessions occur 3 times per week.

Brainspotting

Each therapist at Calo receives a series of trainings to become certified in Brainspotting, which can then be offered during individual sessions, when appropriate. So what is Brainspotting? This therapeutic intervention specifically helps access unprocessed trauma in the subcortical brain, which is accessed by eye placement. Developed (or rather “discovered”) by Dr. David Grand, this is highly effective in identifying and healing underlying trauma that contributes to anxiety, depression and other behavioral conditions. Brainspotting gives the therapist access to both brain and body processes. Its goal is to bypass the conscious, neocortical thinking to access the deeper, subcortical emotional and body-based parts of the brain. To learn more, we encourage anyone and everyone to review the research, which speaks for itself.

Review our other interventions….

At Calo, we believe in a fully comprehensive approach to healing trauma, understanding that the work is not solely accomplished by the therapist and psychiatrist, but rather by every department working together as a whole. To learn more about our other departments:

NEUROTHERAPY

ANIMAL ASSISTED THERAPY or CANINE THERAPY

ADVENTURE THERAPY or OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

MILIEU THERAPY