Founded 8 Years Ago with the Adoptive Family in Mind
Proven
Hundreds of Successful Outcomes for Adoptive Families, Calo is Not a Start-Up
Specialized
Working Exclusively with Families with Adopted Children
Validated
Calo Has Received the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission
Clinically Sophisticated
Calo has Developed a Cutting Edge and Proprietary Developmental Trauma Model
For Adopted Youth Struggling with the Effects of Complex Trauma
Calo is the nation’s first adoption-specific Family Treatment Center. We are national experts in adoption, attachment, and trauma. We employ Golden Retrievers to heal trauma. Our students raise, train, feed, and sometimes adopt these canines in a process we call “transferable attachment”. In this way our students learn how to create and maintain reciprocal relationships. They learn empathy. They learn to give. They heal trauma.
Click here to read But I adopted my child at birth. What do you mean trauma? Written by Calo CEO Alex Stavros.
For Adopted Youth Struggling with the Effects of Complex Trauma
We Developed Canine Transferable Attachment Therapy
We are the only treatment program in the country to employ over 40 golden retrievers, full time to directly supplement our treatment approach to students. Students become AKC certified trainers and get to adopt the canine and take them home.
We Employ a Proprietary Treatment Model
Programs that specialize in complex trauma and adoption, like Calo, emphasize non-verbal therapeutic techniques that research has shown to be more effective than traditional approaches like DBT, CBT. We also employ a CASA model which is more effective with adopted kids than a Positive Peer Culture model.
We Deliver the Latest Evidence-Based Interventions and Neurotherapies
Calo has been offering cutting edge brain/body therapies for almost 5 years including but not limited to Neurofeedback, Heart Rate Variability, Biofeedback and Brain Mapping / qEEGs.
We Offer a Real, Teacher Led and Accredited School
We prioritize school by offering teacher led instruction, not computer-based or online instruction. In this way, our teachers are actively engaged in our students education and reflect more traditional educational experience and are better prepared for traditional classrooms.
We Choose to Operate Under Multiple Layers of Third Party Oversight
Calo is State Licensed, Joint Commission Accredited and Internationally Accredited through AdvancedEd.
Although our Focus is Adoptive Families, It is Not About Adoption
Calo has developed a very deep understanding of the nuances of adoption and the complex trauma that typically occurs prior to the adoption and how that impacts the brain and the nervous system. In the end, the adoption event is a very small part of the process of healing.
Calo Has Deep Experience with Adoption, Both Personally and Professionally
The founder of Calo was adopted, Teen Academic Director is adoptive father of two, CEO is adoptive father of three, Preteen Admissions Director is adopted mother of two, CEOs parents led an orphanage in Peru, Boys Preteen Therapist is an adoptive father, many direct care staff are adopted and / or are adoptive parents.
We do not Employ a Positive Peer Culture
Peer models mimic some of the orphanages and foster care experiences of adoptees. A traumatized child assumes threats and instability in any perceived uncontrolled environment. Positive Peer Culture (PPC) is by definition maintained by the collective wisdom of the peer group. That is not a controlled environment.
Watch Video of Calo’s CEO, Landon Kirk, and Adoptive Father of Three
Questions to Ask Before making a Final Placement Selection
What makes your program a good choice for my child other than he/she is adopted?
- Are you Joint Commission Accredited?
- Where have you received your training on trauma?
- In what ways is your milieu trauma informed?
- How does trauma relate to adoption?
- Are you a milieu based program?
- Do you have a proprietary treatment model?
- What is your theory of change?
- What type of interaction do the boys and girls have?
- How do you ensure that interaction is healthy and productive?
- What type of training is provided to your direct care staff?
- Do you have 24/7 nursing?
- What happens if my child gets sick or is injured during off hours?
- What is your success rate?
- Does your program use Positive Peer Culture?
Parent Testimonials
This is one of a kind program. I’m a psychotherapist, who also works with parents who have adopted internationally. Some feel very helpless when the attachment issues become evident. This program deals specifically with these problems.
– Bari B, Calo Parent
Student Testimonials
Through parenting the canines, I learned that a lot of the things my parents did to help such as discipline and boundaries were actually necessary. This helped bring understanding and gave me the support to start working on what became a nonexistent relationship with my parents. I starting working with a canine named Jake in August and fell in love. He has been my motivation through my time here at Calo
–Andrew, Calo Graduate
Calo is Recognized by the Experts
Calo is an excellent program and maybe the only program that fully integrates an attachment-focused model for the treatment of preteens. I’ve had the privilege of working with this group of competent and dedicated professionals and have observed their work first hand. In many instances a child cannot remain safely at home. In those instances, an attachment-focused model of residential treatment is the best option. Calo is world-class at this trauma and attachment treatment.
Calo is a program based on the healing and restorative power of relationships: building trusting relationships that teens have with staff, with each other, with canines, and with family. What Calo has to offer those teens who live there is something that they can take home with them–how to trust good.
Nationally Recognized Developmental Trauma Experts
Calo’s treatment programs, providing therapeutic treatment for teenagers and pre-teenagers, are located in residential areas in order to promote recovery and healing. If your teen struggles with multiple psychological and emotional issues, we are here to provide help, not just for your teenager, but your entire family. Calo is the residential treatment program of choice for families to help your teen overcome problems including substance abuse, addiction, learning difficulties and mental disorders.
