Motivational Interviewing: Relationship in Action

Motivational Interviewing: Relationship in Action –  Richard Armstrong Chief Clinical Officer   “We think we listen, but very rarely do we listen with real understanding, true empathy. Yet listening, of this very special kind, is one of the most potent forces for change that I know”. Carl Rogers (1980, p.129). A way of being. New…

The Development of Routines, Anchor Points, and Outside Limits (Outside Limits – Part 3 of 3)

– Alvin Weaver Regional Administrator of Residential Services    Outside limits are rules on which there can be no negotiation because they concern areas in which the safety or well-being of the child is at stake. An outside limit is involved if a child is either endangering himself, another, or property, in a way that will have lasting…

The Development of Routines, Anchor Points, and Outside Limits (Anchor Points – Part 2 of 3)

– Alvin Weaver Regional Administrator of Residential Services    Anchor points represent areas that are negotiable between the client and staff. The anchor point is the name given to a method of handling a child’s repressed anger, destructive or violent impulses, or deviant behavior, at times and in places selected by the staff. An anchor point is founded upon…

The Development of Routines, Anchor Points, and Outside Limits (Routines – Part 1 of 3)

– Alvin Weaver Regional Administrator of Residential Services    There are certain times during the day that are particularly important in the development of an adolescent. Certain routines must be established before the adolescent feels comfortable and secure enough to take the risk of changing behaviors that are a part of his patterned way of life. Once a…

Reflections on Trauma

Reflections on Trauma – Richard B. Armstrong, MSW, LCSW, QCSW Director of Clinical Operations Trauma produces actual physiological changes including a recalibration of the brain’s alarm system, an increase in stress hormone activity, and alterations in the system that filter relevant information from irrelevant. This is why people become hypervigilant to threat at the expense…