Planning not Placement

Over the years,  the Bodin name became synonymous with placement.  This is an incorrect label given that much of our work is planning.  Planning for success at home.  We utilize our clinically trained Educational Consultants, local resources  and creative planning to develop a wrap-around plan individually catered to the needs of the particular student.

Of course, this is not to say that placement does not become necessary in some cases.  Our extensive travel and knowledge of the many different programs, schools and levels of care make us a valuable resource in those cases.  Each year, we visit and evaluate over 100 schools and programs around the country.  We also work hard to stay connected to local schools and resources as well.

For more information visit www.thebodingroup.com

Bodin Transitional Services

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

INDUSTRY LEADERS PARTNER TO DEVELOP FULL CONTINUUM OF SERVICES FOR FAMILIES WITH STRUGGLING TEENS

Los Altos, CA 11/3/2008- Bodin, the largest Educational Consulting Group in the country announced today a partnership with Homeward Bound, the industry leader in aftercare and transition management to offer Bodin’s Transitional Services.

This partnership will allow Bodin to expand their services to work with the many families who are in need of immediate in-home intervention as well as families requiring aftercare for students returning from an out of home residential placement. Bodin’s Transitional Services will incorporate Homeward Bound’s in-home intervention and multi-systemic support model.

“The partnership with Homeward Bound broadens the range of professional services offered to our nationwide clients.” said Douglas Bodin, CEO of Bodin, “This service added to the special needs and traditional consulting and testing services we provide to families of children, adolescents and young adults creates an integrated set of options all geared at supporting the educational and emotional needs of their students. This in-home support in concert with continued local, individual and family therapy will create a continuum of care unmatched in the industry.”

Homeward Bound has years of experience providing innovative, evidence-based Earlycare™ services as an in-home treatment option as well as aftercare programs to teens and families returning home from treatment. The integration of these programs with Bodin’s consulting services creates a powerful combination of designing, coordinating and executing a comprehensive plan.

“We have long believed that families are best served when consultants offer a full range of treatment options,” said Homeward Bound’s Founder and CEO Dr. Tim Thayne. “We are pleased to be able to integrate into Bodin’s Transition Services. This type of partnership will allow a wider population of families to benefit from the teen treatment industry.”

For more information about the services offered by Bodin, please call 800-874-2124 or visit www.thebodingroup.com.

About Bodin:

Bodin has been providing Educational Consulting and Psychological Testing since 1979. With several offices in Northern and Southern California they have served families local, nationally and internationally and seen thousands of clients with a broad spectrum of issues relating to education, behavior and family.

About Homeward Bound:

Created in response to a need for more effective aftercare help for troubled teens, Homeward Bound is recognized as the industry leader in aftercare and transition management. The company’s innovative, evidence-based aftercare program helps teens and families bridge the gap between out-of-home treatment and the return to real life. For more than three and a half years, Homeward Bound has assisted teens and their families throughout North America in navigating the transition process and achieving long-term success, unity, and happiness.

Contact:

Brenda Loringer-Bell

bloringer@thebodingroup.com

www.thebodingroup.com

5050 El Camino Real, Suite 101

Los Altos, CA 94022

650-937-1111

Helping Your Troubled Teen

The Educational Consultants at Bodin can help you find the right setting to help your child succeed academically and emotionally.  Whether you are looking to find a local or boarding school option, our consultants have traveled across the country visiting and evaluating schools and programs.  We will evaluate your child’s needs and help you determine the “right fit” for your child.

To speak to an Educational Consultant at Bodin, call 800-874-2124 or check out our website at www.thebodingroup.com

Help for Troubled and Struggling Teens, cont…

The next level of care can be termed learning specific or specialty boarding schools and programs. These offer specific support for, but not limited to, learning differences and social skills challenges. Community based schools and programs are the next level of care and provide a supportive and structured environment for students who may need semi-therapeutic support. The next level of care is therapeutic boarding/emotional growth boarding schools and programs. These guide students through a set curriculum of skills often addressing communication, honesty, integrity, leadership, relationships, etc. Some of these may offer individual therapy, group and family support but these components are not present at all. Clinical boarding schools and programs offer the next level of care. These offer individual therapy as well as group therapy and family support. The highest level of care, outside of hospitalization, is called residential treatment. Residential treatment centers offer weekly or more individual therapy, multiple options for group therapy as well as family support and workshops. Residential assessment programs do not have a specific place on the residential care continuum. These assessment programs can be used as a first step intervention to determine the level of care necessary for students and families. Assessment programs can also be recommended at any point during an intervention to gather a more comprehensive understanding of a student’s presenting issues.

Most residential schools and programs provide academics. Programs range from traditional college prep classrooms to individual academic plans. Tuition for residential schools and programs increase as the clinical support required increases. The length of stay at schools and programs is based on the components of the program as well as the student’s presenting issues.

The decision to engage in a residential intervention can be one of the most important decisions a family will make for their children. Speaking to an Educational Consultant is an investment in the best possible chance for success in a residential school or program that meets a young person’s needs academically, socially, and emotionally.

To speak with an Educational Consultant and learn more about Educational Consulting at Bodin, please call 800-874-2124 or visit www.thebodingroup.com.

Help for Troubled and Struggling Teens, continued…

Residential schools and programs exist to support students and families with a variety of presenting issues. The presenting issues often determine the level of care that students and families will need as they make decisions about residential interventions.

Residential interventions can be short-term or long-term. The length of stay of residential interventions is also determined by the presenting issues of the student and family.

The residential continuum of care is most easily understood by looking at it from left to right. On the left we start with traditional residential interventions such as college preparatory boarding schools, short-term non-therapeutic programs and camps and study abroad programs. These traditional residential interventions do not typically provide therapeutic support.

more to come…

If you need help, please call and Educational Consultant at Bodin, 800-874-2124

Summer options for struggling teens

If you think that your child would benefit from a summer experience call the Educational Consultants at Bodin. Our Educational Consultants can work with you to identify appropriate options based on your child’s individual needs. Summer can provide students with the opportunity to develop skills and insights that relate to challenges including, but not limited to, self-esteem, social skills, learning differences, substance use and more severe mental health issues.

My child is bi-polar and needs treatment, not an educational consultant!

You may be absolutely right that what your child needs is treatment. But that is only the beginning of the process not the end. There are so many questions that you will need to answer to be able to understand your child’s diagnosis and then make the proper decisions on his/her behalf. Treatment alone is just a word, but it is the process that can help make the difference for you and your family. For example; What kind of treatment? Do you need day or residential? What kind of environment will be most conducive to his/her success? What educational assistance does he require? Does he/she have skills or talents that should be emphasized? Our consultants travel nationwide extensively, visiting schools and programs and understanding the nuances that can only be derived by being on the ground, meeting with the owners, therapists and students. We work with hundreds of families with similar issues and can help predict behaviors and outcomes of options.

Depression: Out of the Shadows

Watch PBS May 21, 2008 and learn more about depression. If you have a child who is suffering from depression, we can help. Click here to visit the PBS site for more information and local airing times.

Treatment without diagnosis is like archery without a target.

AN EDUCATIONAL CONSULTING GROUP

Decisions about treatment and placement for children,  adolescents  and young adults require information.  Often such decisions are made too quickly and without sufficient data.  Psychological testing utilizes standardized assessment techniques to evaluate a person’s cognitive, academic and emotional functioning.

Our clinical psychologists have extensive experience in working with children and adolescents with a wide variety of clinical, educational and social/emotional problems.   There expertise in the psychological assessment of at-risk children and adolescents provides the foundation for appropriate educational and therapeutic treatment recommendations. In addition, many programs require testing as a part of their admissions process, and our testing meets these needs.  

 Our comprehensive evaluation focuses on all three critical domains:

Cognitive Functioning:  What are the student’s strengths and weaknesses in the areas of verbal comprehension, spatial and nonverbal reasoning skills, memory and concentration, problem solving, impulse control and judgment?

 Academic Functioning:  Is the student at grade level according to national norms?  Is there evidence of learning disabilities?  Why has school performance dropped off?  Are there specific reasons why this student is struggling?  What remedies are called for?  What are reasonable academic expectations? What types of school recommendations will help the child be more successful?  Does the child need an Individual Educational Plan?

 Emotional Functioning:  Is there an underlying emotional cause that explains this child’s behavior?  Clinical interviews and testing can help to uncover depression, anxiety, problems with substance use, eating and sleep disorders, identity and self-esteem functioning, emotional and interpersonal dynamics.  An assessment of risk for self-harm, suicide, and aggression as well as most appropriate treatment approaches is also a part of the assessment. 

An integrated report pulls together all the data in an informative and readable style.  Many times psychological reports are little more than lists of tests administered and obtained scores.  A report from Bodin Associates Testing Service is a comprehensive analysis of all the data written in a narrative style that is easy to read and understand.  This document provides a road map of where this particular journey started, where it is presently, and shows predicted routes that are dependent on treatment choices presently being reviewed.  The report informs the decision-making process by providing an analysis of the test data and a context for understanding this individual at this point in time.

In addition, SSAT testing can be administered for admission to private secondary schools.