Relationships are the key to change.

At CALO, relationships are the primary change agent with our students. All treatment within the CALO program is connected to and derived from relationships. We do not accept students into our program; we accept families into our program. We want and encourage our families to be highly active in the CALO program and the change process. The parents are a part of the treatment team along with their student, the CALO Leadership Team, the student’s therapist, academic staff and the residential coaches. Due to the intensity of our students’ struggles, and the importance of relationships, our student to staff ratio is no more than 1 to 3 during waking hours and no more than 1 to 10 during sleeping hours. During sleeping hours we have staff who are awake throughout the night supervising the students.

Family Relationships-
Our push is to have our students’ families on our campus at least every 6-8 weeks, more if possible, for individual family coaching visits. During these visits and during family therapy sessions, family relationships and parenting are directly coached. Our leadership team, our therapists, and our residential coaches are all part of this process. Attached parenting is modeled and parents are directly coached on how to utilize and implement therapeutic touch, coaching, and rhythms in the home as it is utilized within the CALO program.

Staff Relationships-
Staff relationships are utilized for their mentoring power. Our residential coaches are handpicked to work with our students. They are with the students throughout the day building intense, constructive, mentoring relationships with our students. They manage and maintain the daily rhythms (schedules, structure) within the program--providing the students a safe environment which allows them the opportunity to be vulnerable and open themselves up to healing and the possibility of true attachment.

Therapeutic Relationships-
Therapeutic relationships are utilized to create a desire for change in the lives of CALO students. Our therapists are an active part of the CALO therapeutic milieu. They also facilitate group, individual, and family therapy with our students and families. The students participate in daily group, weekly individual sessions, and bi-weekly, two-hour family therapy sessions.

Peer Relationships-
Within the CALO program we utilize the strength of positive peer relationships. CALO actively creates an atmosphere where positive peer relationships are the norm. Some have asked specifically about the use of a particular model, positive peer culture, within the CALO model. While it in not our central change agent due to the intensity of our students (they need a more staff driven model), we do utilize positive peer dynamics within the community milieu to promote accountability and leadership amongst our students.

Transferable Attachment-
Transferable Attachment is our name for the interaction with and care of purebred Golden Retrievers in our living environment. It is a key, cutting-edge treatment aspect of our program. Almost all students have daily participation with the Golden Retrievers and learn connection through these interactions. Where clinically appropriate, some students have the opportunity to adopt a Golden Retriever and are responsible for feeding, training, cleaning and nurturing their new family member. The adoption process that students go through mirrors the adoption process that families have to go through when adopting a child (home study, petition for adoption, decree of adoption, etc.) Whether a student adopts or not, all, and we do mean all, interactions with Goldens are used therapeutically. As students struggle with poor behavior from the dogs and the difficulties of training the dogs they are helped to understand those frustrations their parents have similarly felt. The students feel empathy for their parents. Empathy is the fertile soil where attachment can grow. This empathy is gained experientially, not through abstract discussion. This empathy and attachment is then transferred to the family relationship.