Clinical services are fully integrated into all of Casa Pacifica’s campus based programs - residential treatment and educational (including day school) services.
Ten licensed or license eligible psychologists, five doctoral student psychology interns, a board certified child and adolescent psychiatrist, a team of therapeutic activities specialists and behavior specialists comprise the on-campus clinical team. Also included on the clinical team are two “parent partners” that act as a liaison between the clinical staff and the families of children receiving services.
Clinical services which are funded through contracts with County Mental Health Departments include:
• a day rehabilitation program
• psychological and social/emotional assessments
• mental health services including individual, group and family therapy
• case management
• medication support (assessment of the need for medication and administration of meds)
• crisis intervention
The focus in all of our programs is on helping children/youth gain personal competence and confidence with a strong emphasis on teaching skills - cognitive and social - that help develop personal effectiveness. The philosophical underpinnings of our treatment approach include (a) strength-based, (b) resilience, (c) family involvement and family focus, (d) values driven, (e) social learning, and (f) cognitive behavioral methods. At every possible opportunity Casa Pacifica includes families in treatment planning and delivery and attempts to build on family strengths. Services to families include frequent “family nights,” family therapy, parent participation in cottage life, and parent and sibling support groups.
Aside from the traditional group and individual therapy our clinicians have a significant role in shaping an environment that is conducive to treatment. Clinicians are housed in the residential cottages and day school deliberately so they are logistically in the milieu and are readily available to youth and staff to coach during teachable moments. Clinicians are the leaders of the treatment team, and are expected to bridge the understanding between a youth’s past experiences, their current behaviors and lagging skills, and their strengths which can be used to achieve individualized goals. They must ensure that everyone working with a youth understands the youth. They are the case managers pulling all the significant people in a child’s life together, calling upon youth advocates and parent partners to play a role in helping our young people by providing hope and help to the youth and their families for a brighter future.
Clinicians are the experts on many of the Evidenced Based Practices that we have successfully integrated into the cottage milieu and Day Rehabilitation Programs. They teach these practices to other staff so that collaboration in implementation occurs and helps in the transfer of skills to youth across settings. After completing a comprehensive assessment, they determine which individualized service approaches and treatment settings are most appropriate for children and families and develop behavior support plans that are strength based and strive to promote self regulation, personal responsibility and critical thinking.
A formal post doctoral fellowship program are offered by the clinical department. These training programs are designed to provide supervised clinical experience to professionals entering the field.
Myra Saltoun, PhD, Director of Campus Services
Phone: (805) 366-4100
E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)