The Treatment Center

For Parents

If you’re a parent or caregiver looking for mental health treatment for your child or teen, we’re here to help. The CCAMH 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 is a natural response to stress or danger, but for some young people, it can become overwhelming and interfere with daily life. Anxiety disorders include:

    Generalized Anxiety Disorder

    Social Anxiety

    Separation Anxiety

    Phobias and Fears

    Panic Disorder

    Trauma and Stress-Related Disorders

    Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

    Selective Mutism

    Body-Focussed Repetitive Behaviors (BFRB)

  • We all feel sad and have mood challenges, but for some children and teens, these challenges can be debilitating and interfere with life. Here are some of the conditions we treat:

    Major Depressive Disorder

    Bipolar Disorder

    Emotional Dysregulation

    Suicidality and Self-Harm

  • Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

    Parent Training

    Feeding, Sleep and Toileting Problems

    Behavior Problems

  • Trauma is unfortunately not uncommon among children and teens. Many children and adolescents experience traumatic events at some point in their lives, and these experiences can have a significant impact on their emotional, psychological, and physical well-being. It’s hard to overstate the imporance of early intervention to address trauma in young people. CCAMH will help you find the most effective, evidence-based treatment for your child and family.

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 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

For Children and Teens

One of the most courageous and smart things to do when you’re struggling with your mental health is to reach out for help. It’s hard for most everyone, but it’s worth it. We get it. We’ve been there.

If you want to talk with someone about anxiety, depression, eating disorders, or other things you’re struggling with, please call or text our private line at (805) 996-0535. Or, click the button below to fill out a simple form that will tell us how we can get in touch with you. We will get back to you within 24 hours.

We’re here to help.

If you need to talk with someone immediately, you can call 988. It’s easy, it’s free, it’s private, and the people who answer the calls are trained to help you.

If you’re looking for ways to help others, join the Teen Advisory Board. You can help set the goals and strategies for CCAMH, conduct peer-to-peer surveys, and get trained to serve on a nonprofit board. Click here to apply.

For Clinicians and Associates

The Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Treatment Center offers clinical supervision to LMFT, LCSW, LPCC, PsyD, and PhD candidates and graduates seeking licensure in California.

We are unwaveringly committed to providing high-quality, evidence-based clinical supervision that will give you the training and core skills you need to effectively treat children and teens.

You will be supervised and trained by Dr. Ramona Friedman and other highly qualified clinicians with expertise in evidence-based treatments for children and adolescents. You will also be supported by a team of passionate, hard-working professionals who are dedicated to your success as an evidence-based clinician.

We accept trainees, associates, and licensed clinicians who want to learn evidence-based treatment. Throughout the year, we look for people who are committed to learning and working hard to provide quality care to youth.