Therapeutic services at Three Points Center revolve around the underlying belief that the most important aspect of our work lies in the relationship between the student, their parents, and the therapist. If the student and his or her family do not feel safe with us, and if we do not earn their trust, then we will not be able to achieve treatment goals. Research indicates that attunement to the student on the part of the therapist is a crucial variable in the ability of our students to succeed. Thus, Three Points Center espouses an Emotional-Regulation Model.
There are a number of techniques and interventions ancillary to this process, which are offered at Three Points Center. These may include:
- Neurofeedback
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Equine Therapy
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Mindfulness
- Yoga
- Play Therapy
- Dance Therapy
- Outdoor Adventures
- Sensory Techniques
Each of these can each play a salient role in healing trauma and reactive attachment disorders, but without a trusting and attuned relationship between the family and therapist, these are simply techniques.
Another important aspect to clinical work involves being up to date with current research on adopted children and applying that research at Three Points Center. This is why we do not have points and levels, and why our parents are welcome to visit anytime. This is why we do not shame or punish, and do not operate out of a behaviorally-oriented approach. This research incorporates Epigenetics, Pre-Birth Trauma, Neural Development, Attachment-based work, Birth-family work, and understanding the impact of Complex Trauma on our students.
We are grateful to the many researchers who devote their careers to understanding these variables. Three Points Center supports this research by collaborating with the Kinsey Trauma Institute at Indiana University, by supporting the missions of the Association for Training on Trauma and Attachment in Children (ATTACh) and the American Adoption Congress, among others, and by becoming a Research Designated Program in the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP). Clinical Research is crucial to our mission.
To this end, each of the therapists at Three Points Center receive ongoing training in Attachment & Trauma Focused Family Therapy, and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy. Both of these modalities are empirically-supported and important to our work. Dr. Norm Thibault, our Founder and CEO, has trained with Deborah Gray, LCSW and the Association for Training on Trauma and Attachment in Children (ATTACh) in order to be a certified instructor of Attachment and Trauma Focused Family Therapy. He trains our Clinicians, Teachers, and Staff mentors. Dr. Thibault, Thane Palmer, MS, LMFT, (Executive Director), and Kati Soli, MS, LMFT (Clinical Director) have trained with Dr. Arthur Becker-Weidman of the Center for Family Development in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, which was developed by Dr. Daniel Hughes. Our clinicians have also been trained by Billy Kaplan, MSW, LCSW in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy. Each of these experts has been invaluable to us as we create a new approach to addressing adoptive-family issues through a regulation-based approach.
We believe that Three Points Center lies at the forefront of applying solid clinical research with the human-connectedness needed to help our students and their families heal.