These appointments last up to 90 minutes and are a comprehensive evaluation to determine what type of services would be the most effective in treating you, the family, or your child/ren. Both psychiatrists and psychologists can make a thorough assessment of the issues, but if you are thinking you may want to explore medications as part of the treatment, then request a visit with a psychiatrist as your first appointment.

These appointments last up to 50 minutes and focus on helping you work through the issues identified by your evaluation. Your therapy sessions will be tailored to meet your specific needs and incorporate the best evidence that exists on the issues with which you are dealing.

If determined to be an appropriate treatment modality at the initial evaluation, animal-assisted therapy can be utilized during individual or family therapy sessions to help people meet their therapy goals. A professional therapy dog is present during these sessions and can be utilized to address a wide range of concerns including depression, anxiety, trauma, difficulty with focus and attention, social skills, and much more. Some children and teens find it easier to engage in the therapeutic process when a therapy dog is present. 

These appointments are for families who want to rapidly acquire skills around a mental health issue. These groups will typically focus on Anxiety, Depression, or Bipolar Disorder. Boot camps will range from 3 to 5 days and last between 3 to 5 hours per day. Boot camps typically occur during times where families can attend including weekends or school breaks.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR Therapy) is an empirically supported therapeutic modality developed to treat trauma and distressing life experiences. For some people, memories of difficult life events can feel stuck and challenging to get past, leading to distress and trauma symptoms for individuals. EMDR therapy utilizes eye movements (or other forms of dual attention stimulation) to help the brain’s natural healing process and address these unresolved memories. After EMDR therapy, while the memory of the event remains in some form, the emotional charge associated with the event and related symptoms are often resolved. EMDR therapy with children often involves creativity and playfulness, weaving in play, art, and/or animal-assisted components.

These appointments last up to 60 minutes and focus on helping your family work through issues in a family context. Your family therapy sessions will be tailored to meet your specific needs and incorporate the best evidence that exists on the issues with which your family is dealing.

Medical check-ups and early detection have been the hallmark in the medical field for prevention and good care. We believe that these practices also hold true for our mental well-being. These evaluations will help the family focus on early detection and prevention plans to keep potential mental health issues from impeding positive life outcomes.

This therapy works with multiple members of the family at the same time to work on specific issues. Group therapy sessions are typically 90 minutes and conducted with other families. Each group typically will have a parent component and separate parts for your child or teen to participate. We work on helping everyone learn the skills and then come together at points to help make sure parents know how to help their child or teen implement these skills in their lives. Current groups include: Stress & Anxiety, Depression Groups, Bipolar Groups.

Do you have a member of the family who has a mental health issue yet is unwilling to get treatment? Our providers can help you work through and create a plan to help the reluctant person to get the mental health treatment he or she needs.

Do you have questions about the mental health care that you are currently receiving? Our psychiatric and psychological providers are here to assess and make recommendations regarding your treatment.

Does your community have some concerns about a mental health issues? Part of our FAMILY’s mission is to improve outcomes around mental health issues for families, through hosting trainings in the community.

To see current trainings offered and to schedule, see the CU Community Engagement Services site.