Clinical Care

Chamberlain serves a diagnostically diverse student population. Our students have a wide range of learning and emotional challenges, including, but not limited to, learning disabilities, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, thought disorders, personality disorders, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Reactive Attachment Disorder, PTSD, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. 

Our approach to clinical care is founded in the belief that all students are capable of enormous personal growth when they are provided with the support they need. Here, therapists meet individually on a weekly basis with students. Therapists utilize a variety of techniues to individulize treatment based on each students's needs and strengths. Therapeutic strategies include Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Social Thinking Model, Exposure and Response Prevention, Motivational Interviewing,  Acceptance and Commitement Therapy, Collaborative Problem Solving, Client Centered Therapy, community-based life skills training, play therapy, and solution focused therapy among others. The therapists maintain close contact with Education staff, Student Life staff, Nursing, Pyschiatrists, and Administration so that they have intimate knowledge of how each student in their care is doing in all aspects of student life. Therapists are part of the treatment planning for each student, and they accompany them to on-campus psychiatry appointments.

Family involvement is a key aspect for student treatment. Therapists maintain close contact with families to coordinate care and provide support. Services offered to all families include psycho education, parent coaching, and a quarterly parent support group. The Chamberlain Parent Support group provides parents with an opportunity to communicate with other parents regarding questions, concerns, and suggestions in an attempt to help all parents feel a sense of belonging and decrease anxiety about their student's placement at the Chamberlain School.  The Parent Support group is facilitated by the counseling department to maintain a respectful environment and ensure that all conversations remain confidential.  Family therapy is offered when clinically reommended based on student stability and goals of treatment. 

 

Staff Spotlight: John Kersting, MD

John Kersting, MD

PSYCHIATRIST

John has been with Chamberlain since 1998. He is one of two psychiatrists at Chamberlain.

"Studies I've read show that American students receive on average six times the medicines that British students do. And it's not because we're smarter than the British. There is a pervasive sense in America that only medicine can change behavior. Of course, many children indeed have significant psychiatric or medical problems that require medicines. But here, with all of this clinical and behavioral support, and with children supervised by supportive adults, we can try to discontinue or change the medication of children who have come to us seeming overly medicated."

"The clinical staff, teachers, and Student Life staff at Chamberlain operate as a team. For example, we all meet every afternoon at 3:00. We share information on every single student in school so that all of the important Chamberlain people in a child's life are current on what's happening with that child clinically, academically, and socially. I usually see a student along with his or her therapist so I can get a full picture of what that child's daily pressures and ambitions are."

"I remember my first team meeting here. I was struck by the respect I saw for the students. There was no eye-rolling, for example, which is something that beleaguered teachers and clinicians often do. There was only respect and concern. That's part of what I admire about Chamberlain. At those team meetings, people sometimes get into heated arguments, but it's all resulting from impassioned concern for the students. I like to see that. And I like it that we resolve our conflicts with solutions that are workable. After all, that's what we try to teach the students to do."

For a more in-depth description of Chamberlain's clinical services read our Statement of Purpose, Philosophy, Goals and Objectives.

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