The Treatment Center

If you’re a parent or caregiver looking for mental health treatment for your child or teen, we’re here to help. The CYMH Treatment Center specializes in evidence-based treatments that have been extensively researched and shown to be effective. We will do a full assessment and evaluation to determine the best treatment to address your child’s specific condition.

Anxiety Disorders and OCD

Depression and Mood Disorders

Attention Deficit and Behavior
Disorders

Trauma

Been the industry's standard

Not all mental health treatments are equal. Some are backed by scientific evidence; others are not. Therapists who use treatments based on science provide “evidence-based practice” (EBP). If the treatments they use have scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness, they are called evidence-based treatments (EBTs). EBTs are listed as best practice and preferred approaches for mental health symptom treatment by the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association. We offer the following EBTs:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a widely used approach that helps individuals identify and challenge negative thought patterns and behaviors contributing to their mental health challenges. It's particularly effective for anxiety disorders, depression, and other mood disorders in youth

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based therapeutic approach that focuses on helping individuals develop psychological flexibility, increase awareness of the present moment, and commit to values-based actions. ACT is rooted in the contextual behavioral science framework and is often used to treat a wide range of mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, stress, and chronic pain. While it's not exclusively designed for youth, it can be adapted for adolescents and children

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a specific type of CBT commonly used for treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and phobias in youth. It involves gradually exposing the individual to anxiety-inducing situations while refraining from engaging in their typical compulsive and avoidance behaviors.

Family-Based Treatment (FBT)

Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is an evidence-based therapeutic intervention primarily used to treat adolescents with anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders. FBT recognizes the crucial role that family members play in the recovery process and involves their active participation in the treatment

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) combines cognitive-behavioral techniques with mindfulness strategies. It's often used to treat borderline personality disorder, self-harm behaviors, and emotion dysregulation in adolescents

The CYMH Treatment Center – Clinical Supervision

Welcome to the Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CCAMH) Treatment Center. We are a nonprofit with an unwavering commitment to expanding access to quality, evidence-based youth mental health care as quickly as possible. Core to our mission is to provide high-quality supervision that will equip you with a set of evidence-based therapy tools to treat children, teens, and young adults.
Not all mental health treatments are equal. Some are backed by scientific evidence; others are not. Therapists who use treatments based on science provide “evidence-based practice” (EBP). If the treatments they use have scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness, they are called evidence-based treatments (EBTs). EBTs are listed as best practice and preferred approaches for mental health symptom treatment by both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association.

CYMH Treatment Center Trainees and Associates

CCAMH Treatment Center Trainees and Associates are supervised by Dr. Ramona Friedman, who has been providing treatment and supervision in EBT for more than two decades. Dr. Ramona Friedman is a highly respected expert and advocate for evidence-based youth mental health treatment. She received her PhD and clinical training at Chicago Medical School/Rosalind Franklin University and went on to specialize and refine her clinical experience at Rush University Medical Center and University of California San Diego. Dr. Friedman has extensive experience in providing evidence-based therapies to youth with anxiety, mood, behavioral challenges, ADHD, and trauma. She has served youth and their families in San Luis Obispo County for over 10 years now as one of the very few mental health providers in the area delivering evidenced-based psychotherapies for children and adolescents. Beyond her clinical practice, Dr. Friedman provides professional consultation to schools and local agencies about the use of evidence-based interventions in our community.

At the CYMH Treatment Center trainees and associates will learn the following foundational clinical skills:

Clinical interviewing:
taking a developmental youth-focused framework, you will learn comprehensive case conceptualizations based on an evidence-based lens, learn differential diagnoses, and understand how the context of the environment impacts symptoms and challenges. You will learn how to develop treatment planning with the youth and families.
Evidence-based treatments:
Evidence-based treatments and skills include behavioral principles, functional analysis, cognitive behavioral therapies, dialectical behavioral skills, and more.

Critical thinking:
Critical thinking, understanding your strengths and weaknesses and how to become lifelong learners.

At the CYMH Treatment Center

Dr. Friedman and other EBT-experienced clinicians, the CCAMH Treatment Center will provide the following training and supervision in evidence-based youth mental health treatment:
A minimum of 150 hours per quarter, 15 to 20 hours on-site per week at the Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health 895 Aerovista Place, San Luis Obispo.
Each quarter, at least 60 of those hours will be providing face-to-face counseling.
You will receive a minimum of 10 hours of individual/triadic and 20 hours of group supervision on site each quarter.
Your caseload will include at least 2 families, parent-child.
You will have the opportunity to learn evidence-based skills in group therapy for teens and parents as well as family-based therapies for specific conditions.
Our highly skilled team will empower you as a therapist and support you with practical training and tools to start your practice.