Our camps are designed to help families to connect and help challenging children to redirect their paths.  The foculs of camp is to renew, recharge, and empower each parent and child with effective techniques to increase love and laughter in their homes.  Skill building interventions will be taught and practiced to build trust, honesty, self-control, and conscience development.  Living the techniques and experiencing the change is the camp goal.  Families can then return home and continue to successfully improve relationships with their new skills.

It is the goal of this camp to provide each family with the opportunity to spend quality time with all of their children.  If an attention-seeking child has a "blow out," trained staff will remove the child from the activity and address their behaviors so that the rest of the family can continue having fun.  You will also have an opportunity to learn the interventions used to appropriately address your child's behaviors.  Emotionally healthy children ages 5 and older will participate in a special program designed to honor and encourage them with unforgettable fun.

This is an opportunity for your family to relax, and experience a fun camp environment with others who share your experiences and frustrations.  We want to give you a new perspective on what it means to be a "family having fun" and at the same time, learn new strategies to take home with you to implement in your day-to-day lives.

Nancy Thomas

Nancy has been successful with challenging children for over 30 years.  From this experience she has developed effective tools and a strategy that has gained her respect as a leader and trainer in therapeutic parenting both in the United States and internationally.  Parents love Nancy because she speaks heart to heart with compassion and humor.  She also sends parents home with a real-world plan of action.  Professionals respect her because her parenting methods provide a balance of nurture and structure, essential elements of healing for children with RAD and other emotional challenges.  For more information about Reactive Attachment Disorder or Nancy Thomas visit her wibsite at:  www.attachment.org.

James H. Dumesnil MS, LPCMHC, CCFC

Mr. Dumesnil currently serves as the president of the California Mental Health Counselor’s Association. He is the past president of the National Association of Forensic Counselor’s of California. He has served on the board of directors of the Center for Attachment Therapy, Training and Education for the last decade.

Since completing graduate school in Applied Developmental Psychology over two decades ago, James Dumesnil has successfully intervened with birth, adoptive and foster families. He was the founder and program director of a community response program, which interfaced law enforcement, juvenile probation, mental health and social services. It established an emergency response team, utilizing therapeutic respite care to provide emergency placements, triage, assessment, crisis stabilization and reunification services.

Additionally, Mr. Dumesnil has worked extensively providing forensic assessments and interventions to parents and adolescents referred for allegations of child abuse and physical, sexual and domestic violence. He has published research in the areas of Restorative Justice and Token Economies applied to new juvenile justice systems, and in the area of Facilitating Family and Group Therapy dynamics. Finally, he currently serves as the lead therapist for Families by Design, and is building a permanent family camp in Arizona.