Our Child DBT Program (CAMMP)
Clearwater has developed a DBT-informed child curriculum called CAMMP (Clearwater’s Affect Management and Mindfulness Program for kids) that teaches children some of the DBT skills that are useful in managing strong emotion and learning to direct attention. Derived from the adolescent materials developed by Alec Miller, and including materials found useful in working with ADHD children, the emphasis is on mindfulness, basic distress tolerance, and age-appropriate social skills (including managing teasing and bullying).
Individual DBT informed therapy incorporating the CAMMP curriculum is offered for children between the ages of 8 and 10. We help children apply DBT skills using simplified systems for monitoring behavior change with the goals of helping pre-teens learn about emotion regulation, and improve control of their attention and behavior. We use the CAMMP curriculum in the individual therapy to introduce concepts and even do homework that involves practicing skills.
For children in this age group to change in therapy, it is imperative that the parents be involved. If parents are already getting parenting help from another therapist, we would ask that their therapist coordinate care with Clearwater. If parents are not involved in therapy that addresses parenting issues elsewhere, we do require that parents participate with a therapist at Clearwater. We offer individualized parent coaching, where parents can meet one-on-one with a therapist and investigate how to effectively apply DBT skills to the particular difficulties they are facing with their child.
Clearwater is not primarily a research institution, and unlike the curriculums that have been developed and researched within academic or hospital settings, our curriculum has not been empirically validated.