 Parenting a teenager comes with unique challenges. As they strive for independence, they still need emotional support—but not in a way that undermines their ability to handle life’s difficulties. Children who have been adopted, or are being raised by other family members struggle with typical teen challenges and often struggle with attachment issues. These attachment issues may look like a strong need for control and a lack of trust in those around them. This oftentimes leads to a higher level of conflict with their parents.
So how does a parent help their child who needs a higher level of emotional support? The key is attuning to their emotional needs without rescuing them from discomfort. While attunement fosters resilience and confidence, rescuing can unintentionally prevent them from developing essential coping skills. Attuning means being present, listening deeply, and helping your teen navigate their emotions—without taking control of the situation. It fosters emotional security while empowering them to develop problem-solving skills. Attunement is healthy support. When you attune to your teen you are; validating feelings without fixing, asking open ended questions, encouraging independence and independent problem solving, helping to process their emotions and most importantly, providing emotional safety. Rescuing is when you are solving the problems for your teen, giving advice without listening, taking over their responsibilities, shielding them from discomfort or failure and minimizing or dismissing their emotional reactions. Examples of rescuing include, calling the teacher or coach for them, minimizing, ignoring, and dismissing their feelings, doing their homework or a project so it isn’t late, or telling their teen what to do without hearing first what their teens want to do. Attunement is about creating an atmosphere where your teen feels safe, heard, and understood. A parent’s own mental and emotional state often influences how we parent our teens. Does your teen’s needs create your own anxiety? Are they triggering you? Does that anxiety lead to you to solve their problems for them? Learning how to take a breath before stepping in and asking yourself if you are responding to their need or reacting to the situation at hand, will help foster better attunement. Consider working with a parent coach or a therapist to help reframe struggles your teen is having. Remind yourself that the struggle is a necessary part of growing and building resilience. There is always a gift that arises from the struggle. Not every conversation with your teen has to be a deep heart-to-heart. Sometimes, connection happens during casual moments—on a car ride, while making dinner, or during a late-night snack. Keep the door open for natural, pressure-free communication. Humor or playfulness is an important part of building a relationship with your teen. Humor lessons tension and creates a loving atmosphere where your teen can come to you with their challenges. Approach your teen with curiosity. Become a reporter who is asking who, what and where questions, but never why. Why questions automatically put a person on the receiving end, into a defensive stance. Reframe your questions for your teen to “Tell me more about that” or how did that happen? To help create their own independent thinking, ask, “what did you learn about this (situation)”? Or what will help you the next time? Validate difficult or different feelings without solving their problems. Do this even if their emotions seem disproportionate to the situation. Their feelings are real to them. Use affirming language such as “I can see why that upset you”. Or the simple, “that sucks”. Encourage their own problem solving skills. Simply ask, “what is your plan” or “who can you talk to about this?” “I am here if you need me.” These responses both validate and leave the door open for when your teen is ready to talk more in depth. Let your teen set the pace for emotional sharing. If they pull away, don’t force conversations. Simply remind them you’re there whenever they’re ready. Remind your teen that you are there for them and they are not alone in this. This approach helps teens feel seen, heard, and capable of handling their own challenges When parents prioritize emotional attunement, teens develop greater self-awareness, resilience, and trust in their relationships. Small, consistent efforts to tune in can lead to deeper, more meaningful connections that last a lifetime. Attuning to your teen’s emotions while allowing them to struggle and problem-solve builds their confidence, resilience, and self-trust. This is especially important for adopted teens, who may face additional emotional layers tied to their adoption story. It tells them: “I believe in your ability to handle this, and I’m here for you.” By staying connected without over-functioning, you empower your teen to grow into a capable, emotionally secure individual. Would you like more personalized strategies for your teen’s specific challenges? Let’s continue the conversation!
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In the world of therapeutic consulting, it’s common to encounter parents who deeply resonate with the love language of Acts of Service. For these families, love is expressed and received through actions that help, support, or ease the burden of their child. Whether it’s preparing a meal, running errands, or stepping in during a time of need, their actions communicate care, compassion, and connection.
While this love language is inherently nurturing and generous, it can also lead to challenges—especially when it intersects with the Rescuer role in the Drama Triangle. The Rescuer, as described by Stephen Karpman, takes on a position of "helping" others to the detriment of their own well-being, often enabling dependency or neglecting their own needs. For our families that may look like excusing behaviors and doing too much for their children. Parents often become rescuers due to a combination of love, fear, and societal expectations.. How Parents Turn Into RescuersParents often become rescuers due to a combination of love, fear, and societal expectations. Crossing the boundary from Acts of Service to Rescuer happens for multiple reasons. Parents have a natural desire to protect their children. This protection, while rooted in love, does not allow their child to learn resilience or natural consequences when they are protecting the child from failures or discomfort. This transformation happens through several pathways. Many parents are academically focused and the parents fear that if they do not step in, their child’s consequences will adversely impact their future. By not allowing a child or teen to advocate for themselves, and having never learned the skill, that child or teen will not be able to navigate college, or the world at large, on their own. There are parents who have difficulty setting boundaries. That parent struggles to differentiate between healthy help and enabling dependency. Some parents were parented themselves by rescuers. They lacked the support growing up and perpetuated the cycle of generational patterns. For other parents, they derive a sense of identity or accomplishment by being needed by their children. It validates the parental need to be a parent and creates an unhealthy codependent relationship. By recognizing these tendencies, parents can reflect on their behaviors and make conscious efforts to empower rather than rescue their children. Validating the Acts of Service Love Language So, how do we validate the beauty of the Acts of Service love language while guiding clients to avoid slipping into the Rescuer role? One key insight is to not invalidate the natural tendency for Acts of Service. Too often a family therapist may tell a parent not to rescue their child from the uncomfortable. They often forget that Acts of Service is an ingrained part of their identity. This invalidates the parent's natural love language. It’s important to emphasize that Acts of Service is a beautiful and meaningful way to express love. We teach parents how to recognize the differences between helping and rescuing. We teach parents how to empower their children while not rescuing them. We teach them how to coach their own children. An example may be instead of telling their child what to do, or doing their school work for them, they ask if they can brainstorm ideas instead. Guide parents to ask empowering questions, such as, “What do you think you could do about this?” or “How can I support you in handling this yourself?” This shifts the dynamic from fixing to supporting and support is a natural and wonderful way to express your Acts of Service. Teach families that holding boundaries is another form of Acts of Service. If a kiddo forgets to bring something to school, and texts a parent at work, it is ok to hold a boundary and allow that child to problem solve. Teach parents to set limits on their time, energy, and resources. Encourage parents to practice saying "no" when a request feels overwhelming or unnecessary. It is important to teach that the idea of boundaries are an act of both self care and problem solving empowerment. Invite parents to explore the emotional drivers behind their actions. Are they seeking validation, avoiding conflict, or fearing rejection? Understanding these patterns can help clients make conscious choices. It is also important to teach parents to prioritize their own self care. Self care models healthy behaviors for loved ones and demonstrates that it is okay to prioritize oneself. Self care while parenting a teenager, often requires a two step process. The initial step is to teach yourself techniques to release stress. If your tank is filled with stress, releasing the stress often leaves an empty tank. Therefore, the subsequent step may be exploring options to refill what was depleted. Again, it is important to acknowledge both internally and externally to the parent, that Acts of Service can foster deep connections and show thoughtfulness. It is a proactive process that expresses care and can build trust in the relationships. Acts of Service stems from a place of love and generosity which are positive traits when expressed within healthy boundaries. By validating a parent’s love language, parents feel seen and respected rather than criticized for their natural tendencies which often can overstep Understanding the intersection of Acts of Service and the Rescuer role offers a profound opportunity for growth. By validating the beauty of this love language, while teaching parents to set boundaries, and teaching them to empower their children, we can guide parents toward healthier and more balanced relationships. In the end, it is not about giving less love but about giving love in ways that sustain both themselves and their relationships. Acts of Service, when paired with mindfulness, understanding, and boundaries, can be a powerful tool for creating connection and well being. I was always bothered by the saying You are Only as Happy as your Least Happy Child. Clearly the person who created this phrase never raised special needs children. As parents, we naturally feel deeply connected to our children, and we want to share in their joys and their struggles. But this one phrase in particular implies that a parent's happiness is directly tied to their child's accomplishments and happiness. While this sentiment resonates with many, it oversimplifies the complex dynamics between a parent’s emotional health and their child’s. In fact, subscribing to this notion can be harmful to both parents and children in ways that might not be immediately obvious.
In children, co-regulation is essential because they are still developing the ability to self-regulate their emotions. Co-regulation is the process where a more regulated, emotionally stable individual, the parent, helps their child manage their emotions and behaviors. It involves providing external support, guidance, and calming cues to help the child in distress navigate their intense feelings until they are able to regulate on their own. Over time, with repeated co-regulation experiences, children build the internal skills to manage their emotions independently. The keys to co-regulation are emotional attunement, supportive and calming presence, guidance and feedback as well as modeling the regulation necessary to manage difficult emotions. If the parent is unhappy, sad or even depressed because their child is struggling it is very difficult to achieve a state of mind where they are able to co-regulate. When your child is struggling, they need to know that you are emotionally available and supportive, without feeling that their struggle is overwhelming or destabilizing you. A parent’s ability to remain calm, grounded, and emotionally resilient in the face of their challenges provides the child with a sense of security. This doesn’t mean being detached from your child’s emotions, but it means showing them that you can handle whatever they’re going through—and more importantly, that they can handle it too. The dangers of not being able to co-regulate can create or encourage a co-dependent relationship. The saying, you are only as happy as your least happy child, implies that a parent’s emotional state is solely dependent on their child’s happiness and that a parent’s well being is tethered to the ups and downs of their child’s emotional world. This type of emotional entanglement is unhealthy for both. Children need to learn both independence and emotional resilience. For parents, tying your own happiness to their well-being can lead to feelings of guilt and inadequacy as a parent. When your child is struggling, the belief that your happiness hinges on theirs may make you feel responsible for “fixing” their emotions, even when it’s outside your control. This pressure can make parents feel as though they’re failing when they can’t immediately improve their child’s situation. The saying You are Only as Happy as Your Least Happy Child also ignores the importance of self care. A parent prioritizing their own well being allows you to be more present, patient and the ability to respond versus react to a child’s need. When parents neglect their own emotional needs, they risk becoming overwhelmed, irritable, and unable to provide the stability and guidance their children need. A healthy and balanced parent can better manage the challenges of parenting, offer constructive support, and create a secure environment for their children. In general, the saying "You are Only as Happy as Your Least Happy Child” oversimplifies the complex dynamic of parenting and emotional health. While it’s natural to care deeply about your child’s well-being, true parental support involves modeling emotional resilience and maintaining your own happiness. By doing so, you offer your child a sense of stability and show them that their feelings, while important, don’t have to dictate the emotional climate of the family. Ultimately, allowing yourself to maintain your own well-being enables you to be the best version of yourself as a parent. A healthy, emotionally balanced parent is a powerful resource for a child, no matter how challenging the circumstances. These are unprecedented times in our world. There is a lot of uncertainty. Parents and children do not know when they will return to school. We need to social distance and stay home, both telework and teleschool. I have gleaned resources from a variety of social media and complied them in no particular order. The resources are for boredom, to support homeschooling, to support teens, young adults and adults who may need recovery resources. There is no great organization to this list, and I am open to modifying and adding to it, please just send me an email or a message. And feel free to share this list with others so that they too can fight boredom or access resources they need.
Please stay safe during the Covid 19 crisis. Please support businesses where you can. Please have good practices to prevent the spread. Mindy RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE/CHILDREN AT HOME Spectrum and Xfinity are offering free internet to assist with kids at home Class Central - offers 450 free online classes from Ivy League Colleges Coursera Khan Academy Weareteachers.com Ideas: : sensory tables Calming jars Board games Card games to enhance math skills Edible science Balloon experiments Science experiments with office supplies Websites: Scholastic.com - free online courses www.switcheroozoo.com www.funbrain.com www.kids.nationalgeographic.com www.pbs.org www.reading.ecb.org www.starfall.com www.seussville.com www.storylineonline.net www.abcya.com www.highlightskid.com www.adventuresinfamilyhood.com (20 virtual field trips) www.familyguide.com (110 activities) www.adventureacademy.com (a membership organization) www.kidsactivitiesblog.com www.havefunteaching.com/resources/relief-packs www.weareteachers.com https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/135609/list-of-education-companies-offering-free-subscriptions/?fbclid=IwAR1XcGrCPeMvUqOflINTz5cPf25KD5s579PefwAGJaR7YE599tXuYAOQUGA https://growingbookbybook.com/online-literacy-resources/?fbclid=IwAR1PONI6akXXInvwdxdj85tb2-80j39Afcy9AryKklcaOfn7pxmRBr14O8I https://www.playbill.com/article/15-broadway-plays-and-musicals-you-can-watch-on-stage-from-home?fbclid=IwAR3Gln1MstH8bpxLVQk0rZ0uq60rvt8Yrm4VkgxRVJHmm8NAE06qv2vxuPI https://www.understood.org/pages/en/school-learning/for-educators/ https://www.edutopia.org/ www.education.com https://www.nypl.org/ - NY Public Library has thousands of free titles Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems kennedy-center.org/education/mo-willems Other Ideas: There are online cooking classes and music classes Virtual Tours, live cams and field trips Cincinnati Zoo Monterey Bay Aquarium Georgia Aquarium National Aquarium Baltimore San Diego Zoo Yellowstone National Park House Zoo Virtual Farm Tour Us Space and Rocket Museum Huntsville Al Discovery Education Virtual Field Trips The Louvre The Great Wall of China Boston Children’s Museum Metropolitan Opera - Nightly Streaming West Chester Public Library Scavenger Hunt National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City MASP, Sao Paulo Uffizi Gallery, Florence H Paul Getty Museum Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Pergamom Museum, Berlin National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul Musee d’Orsay, Paris National Gallery of art, Washington DC Guggenheim, NY British Museum, London Audible is offering free books for ages 0-18 YMCA is offering 60 free online classes Attitude Magazine (online for ADHD resources) Online Schools: Laurel Springs Whitmore School Fusion Academy Lindamood Bell Goal www.goalac.org Our Friends at Red Mountain Sedona created a similar list for those who need recovery resources: 1. Alcoholics Anonymous
Every so often a person gets lucky. And that was how I felt when I volunteered to be bumped from a flight and received a very generous airline. I decided to use that credit to tour programs I would not have otherwise been able to visit. I chose to go to Israel. In a week long visit I had the privilege of visiting and getting to know 4 very distinct programs. The Alexander Muss High School is a semester abroad program located in Herzliya. Located on a beautiful campus, teens from all over the world take classes in English. I was thrilled to be able to sit in on a history class. All the kids were engaged and thoughtful in the questions that they asked. Aardvark is a gap year program with locations in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Living in fully furnished apartments, students live like locals and explore opportunities with internships and volunteerism. College credit can be earned through the American Jewish University. There are so many add ons I am not sure how a person chooses only one. Switching gears I was welcomed to Retorno, a 12 step model rehab program. There are single gender programs and an english group as well as hebrew speaking treatment. I was welcomed with a lovely horseback ride, up the ridge, overlooking a peaceful valley of biblical importance. The setting is serene and beautiful and just where you would want to be when doing emotionally difficult work. In addition to horses, dbt, sports therapy, yoga, and a holistic approach is used. Unique to Retorno is the use of DHEA to support long term recovery. My final visit was to Free Spirit, an 8 - 10 week program located on a kibbutz at the base of the Ha Carmel forest. Free Spirit is an experiential program, empowering young people, through routines of daily life as well as multiple expeditions. Student's projects were seen throughout the kibbutz. I had a chance to meet with students and they were both insightful and they were thriving. I highly recommend that if anyone is ever bumped from a flight you take advantage of the opportunity, break out of your own comfort zone, and go and explore the world!  Summer is winding down and it has been a wonderful summer of travel and learning. The travel began in Northern Utah. Ogden was home base for a few days. I was able to visit with old friends and new friends. Day one began with a tour of Viewpoint Center, a sub acute psychiatric program. Neighboring Elevations and Seven Stars were lovely and gracious, opening up their campus for touring. Day two began in Logan at Logan River Academy. How wonderful to be able to spend the day with the Logan River family. Then off to Solstice and The Journey Home to visit with the girls. Thank you Kate for all that you do! For those that don't know she is simply a dynamo, very impressive. Day three saw a change in geography and accommodations. Waypoint Academy is located in the foothills of the Snowbasin Ski area. The vistas are breathtaking. The program is warm and homey and the boys were open and forthcoming. Next stop was Eva Carlston, after I ran late and got lost. They were nothing but gracious at my own mistakes. Thank you Allison. There I found myself with a great clinical team and lovely young women. I ended the day visiting with a student at Youth Care. I moved locations toward the south and stayed in Provo. I had the pleasure of touring the Discovery family of programs. Discovery Academy, Discovery Connections and Discovery Ranch. Each of these programs had a different feel and worked with a different type of student. Thank you to the Discovery for such a great day. I truly enjoyed my last day in Utah. I toured The Heritage School and then New Haven Academy. I loved my time at Heritage with Matt and Ian and learning about how they are becoming one of the most sensory sensitive program there is. I also loved my time at New Haven. There was such a vulnerability that the girls could share with me. I feel honored and humbled to have had such a wonderful week touring. I always appreciate a good learning opportunity. My next big trip was to Asheville, Black Mountain, more specifically, for Expanding Recovery for Young Adults, Conference and Wellness Retreat. After some bad travel experiences, and finally getting there, I was honored to be learning from Noah Levine who founded Refuge Recovery. There were keynotes, mediation, break out sessions and a lesson on Wilderness skills. One member of our group got fire started with nothing but steel and a rock. Others were spending time doing 12 Step Yoga. What a fabulous event. I can't wait to see what happens next year! Thank you to Deara Ball from SWUS. SWUS was a sponser of this event. Deara is a bundle of energy and deserves many kudos for putting on an amazing event.    Beautiful Lobby at Waypoint Academy This week Kate Gosselin once again graces the cover of People Magazine. Her son Colin is missing from the family photo.
The Gosselin family has always been controversial because of how much they have shared of their lives in the public forum. There is now even more controversy over how Colin has been sent away to work on his special needs, especially given his young age. He is only 12 years old. As a therapeutic educational consultant and parent to someone with special needs, the decision to send a child to treatment is not an easy one. I applaud her decision to seek help for her son. I admire her for trying to be honest, help bust stigma around treatment, and doing the best she can for her son. I also applaud her for keeping details secret, as with any medical issue, this will be Colin's story to tell. Sending a child to treatment, whether it be a residential treatment center or therapeutic boarding school can happen for a variety of reasons. There may be a severe enough learning disability that the child is not progressing in either public school nor a therapeutic day school setting. There may an autism spectrum disorder where resources to match individual needs are not available. There may be an emotional coping issue to the point that there are safety concerns for both himself or others. The family may have exhausted all local and outpatient resources, which is usually the case, prior to the decision to send a child to treatment. Additionally, in the case of multiple births, there may be an in utero organic brain development issue. At this point in time, when all else has been tried, a 24/7 therapeutic environment is the only one that can help a child learn the skills they need to learn to cope in their world. Private residential treatment programs are not institutionalized. They are often home like setting. They often use animal and brain based therapies to help a younger child heal. The people that I have encountered work in the field do so because they truly want to help children heal. This is tough work and takes a certain type of person to work with children with this high level of need. It also takes a certain type of Mom and Dad to be able to say, we have tried absolutely everything and we need to do more. It is always great to be able to get on the road, tour wonderful programs and meet all those who are helping so many different types of students. Trips this past spring included visiting programs in Kansas, Texas, Hawaii, California, and Wisconsin. Here are some of the highlights. In Texas, I was honored to be invited to attend the graduation of a student from the Fushear Transition program. Everyone was beaming and congratulating the beautiful young lady on all of her hard work and accomplishments.
 We were invited guests to Rogers Memorial annual fundraising luncheon. All the invitees donated stuffed animals for the children who are currently being treated at Rogers. For this year's Keynote address, the speakers at the luncheon chose the topic of Scrupulosity. Scrupulosity is a distortion of a person's religious views to the point of interfering with daily living. Rogers Memorial incorporates their Chaplin Corp as an integral part of the treatment team when treating Scrupulosity.
While highlighting only a few of the programs that I toured, I am extremely grateful for all the hospitality of the programs that I did tour. Everyone gave very generously of their time and I was humbled by all of the good work that people do on behalf of children, teens and young adults. It was a very busy spring season. I can not wait to see what the rest of the year has in store! Mental health and the media often have a distorted relationship. Those with mental health issues are often portrayed as aggressive, unstable and violent. The reality is that those with mental health issues are more often victims. More recently, in fictional television shows, Homeland has portrayed Carrie Mathieson's bipolar disorder with multiple layers. She manages the many complications that comes along with a stressful professional career while also managing a mental illness. It was a major breakthrough for the mental health community.
The Fox primetime soap opera, Empire, has taken on the mental health issues. This primetime soap is about the Lyon Family and the music industry. Lucious is the family patriarch. His eldest son Andre has bipolar disorder. Andre, like Carrie from Homeland, is college educated and a professional. It is progress that two major television characters are portraying bipolar disorder is a positive light. Also like Carrie, Andre struggled to find his stability and ultimately has. This season, Andre discovered a long held family secret that he inherited his bipolar disorder from his Grandmother, Lucious' mother. Other subplots with mental health concerns have played out this season. Lucious was a child raised by a Mother with untreated and extreme mental health issues. At what appeared to be around 9 years old she tried to drown Lucious in a bathtub and then proceeded to put a gun to her head, and pulled the trigger in front him. This left him an untreated traumatized child. As an adult the imprint of his trauma affects him in everything he does. He has viciously clawed his way to the top. Lucious is using his traumatic experience to make a music video. You see his body physically respond and tense up when he is reliving the scenes of the drowning incident. He has never dealt with this, nor has it left him. As an adult, a man, and a father, he doesn't know how to have close emotional connections to those he really does love. He also treats his son's bipolar disorder as a character weakness. While considering his corporate successor he would never consider Andre because of him mental illness. And yet his own mental health issues continue to haunt him. Lucious' mother reappeared this past week. She was kept away by Lucious but discovered by Andre. She had been living in an institution for the last 21 years, still suffering from her demons. This brings another layer of awareness of just how complicated mental health issues truly are. Andre naively believed that bringing her to live with the family would be enough to keep her stable just because he was stable. But unlike him, her mental illness was more complicated and always was. The episode closes showing her instability and the lasting effect that it has on Lucious and his inner child. As a primetime soap opera subplots see compression and exaggeration. License is also taken. This is Children's Mental Month. Many children suffer from bipolar disorder. Many children suffer from early childhood traumas, which have long lasting impacts well into adulthood. Empire has done a wonderful job of bringing awareness of so many layers to the forefront. I am thrilled that awareness is happening and a conversation is starting. Please know that there is good help and treatment for children who have mental health concerns. Unlike Lucious, no one has to suffer alone, or for the rest of their lives.  Trauma happens when an experience produces psychological injury or pain. Complex trauma is a type of trauma that happens cumulatively over time, within specific relationships or contexts. That context may be war, chronic illness, or abuse, either physical or sexual. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is the result of a single traumatic event, for example a terrorist attack, a tornado, hurricane or other natural disaster. On the other hand, Developmental Trauma is a form of complex trauma that specifically affects young children, even unborn children, although the symptoms often do not manifest until many years later. This type of trauma can include abuse and neglect at the hands of a trusted caregiver, neglect in a foreign orphanage, in utero exposure, or even premature birth or illness where medical healing touch can not be distinguished from abuse by a baby or toddler.
Babies learn emotional regulation from attuning to the face of their Mother or primary caregiver. When this relationship is disrupted, a child may develop trauma. A core belief of those suffering from developmental trauma is that the world is an unsafe place. Symptoms of children with developmental trauma include affect and psychological dysregulation, and attentional and behavioral dysregulation. These dysregulations can present as emotional rages, sensory processing disorders, hypervigilance, self harming behaviors, risk taking behaviors, lack of empathy, hypersexuality, acting as the parent, lack of trust, and aggression. June 22nd - June 24th, I had the opportunity to attend the 5th annual Developmental Trauma Conference at Change Academy at Lake of the Ozarks, CALO. Dr. Joseph Spinazzola, of the Justice Resource Institute, educated us on the history of developmental trauma as well as how to attune effectively. Steve Sawyer, Clinical Director and Cofounder of New Visions Wilderness Therapy, taught us techniques to regulate a dysregulated nervous system, including, breathing techniques, neurobiofeedback, brainspotting, and heart math. Calo is a residential treatment center which is a relationship based treatment model designed to heal developmental trauma. Calo's relationship based model is known as CASA, which stands for Commitment, Acceptance, Security, and Attunement. These four pillars leads to the ultimate goal of Joy, which is the experience through co-regulation. CALO offers therapy, family therapy, adventure based therapy, neurobiofeedback, and is well known for its canine therapy program. CALO uses Golden Retrievers to help students learn to empathize, trust and receive unconditional love. Students work with their Goldens on a daily basis. They learn and practice safe and healthy attachment with their canine with the ultimate goal of transferring that attachment to their families. Thank you CALO for a wonderful conference and facility tour! |
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