Therapeutic Program
TPA prioritizes mental health as a necessary condition for students’ to engage in their learning. We support our students’ social-emotional development by providing many specialized services and by creating a community of belonging, self- advocacy, and self-efficacy.
Mental Health Services: School-based services which include individual therapy and collateral services with families and other providers are available for students who have educationally related mental health services on their IEP. and is an included service for those who are privately placed. TPA has 4.5 licensed and associate mental health providers to serve our students and their families and to work closely with our teachers to ensure that students are receiving consistent and integrated care.. Therapeutic modalities include Cognitive Behavior Therapy, mindfulness, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Internal Family Systems Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, art and music therapy, and somatic therapy. In addition, therapists work with students from an attachment-based lens since so many of our youngsters have had significant trauma related to forming healthy, trusting relationships with adults in positions of authority and with peers.
Speech and Occupational Therapy Services: Deborah McCloskey, M.A., CCC-SLP, and Judith Lunger, M.A., CCC-SLP, are experienced Speech-Language Pathologists specializing in comprehensive speech-language assessments, individualized intervention, and educational consultation for children and adolescents with diverse communication and learning needs.
Their combined expertise include assessments in the area of speech, language and communication, receptive and expressive language disorders, social-pragmatic communication, higher-level language processing, narrative development, language-based learning disabilities, and motor speech disorders, including Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS).
Both bring experience in Assistive Technology assessment and implementation, identifying individualized tools and strategies to support academic access, communication, and independence. Judith also brings a particular focus on students with language-based learning disabilities, including the impact of language processing challenges on reading, writing, and academic achievement.
In addition to their clinical and educational work, Deborah and Judith have presented locally, nationally, and internationally on a variety of topics related to their areas of professional expertise, sharing their knowledge, clinical experience, and practical approaches with fellow professionals and educational communities.
Their approach to assessment and therapy is collaborative, strengths-based, and neurodiversity-affirming. They recognize that each student brings a unique combination of abilities, learning styles, sensory needs, and communication preferences. Their work emphasizes meaningful skill development, self-advocacy, and individualized strategies that support functional communication and successful participation across academic, social, and everyday environments.
Working closely with families, educators, and multidisciplinary teams, Deborah and Judith are committed to providing thoughtful, comprehensive evaluations, evidence-informed intervention, and practical recommendations that help students build confidence, strengthen communication skills, and reach their individual potential.
Support Staff: The Dean of Student Affairs and the Head of Student Support Services provide behavioral, social and emotional support to our students. The Support Staff develop positive relationships with students schoolwide and are available to provide in the moment support. They conduct peer conflict resolution meetings, check-ins with students, and may run classroom groups to discuss peer related issues. Support staff also assist the classroom teachers in integrating new students and in training our teaching assistants.
School Climate: Staff respond to students’ behavioral mistakes with counseling, restorative justice projects, and opportunities for students to engage in repair. Additional support is provided for students by engaging in the collaborative problem solving model developed by Dr. Ross Greene, which solicits student voice to better understand students’ challenges and to develop solutions.
We try to be proactive, providing students with what they need, and prompting their use of coping strategies so that they may strengthen their self-regulation skills. We actively work to create a supportive environment that encourages regulation. Staff has received training in persistent drive for autonomy (PDA) a neurotype which is associated with autism and for which the use of declarative language, a gentle tone, and a collaborative approach are recommended.
Students’ social emotional development is supported in a variety of ways. Students participate in community building restorative justice circles within which the 5 elements of the social-emotional learning curriculum developed by CASEL are taught. These include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, responsible decision making, and relationship skills.
In addition, all students participate in an end of the day exercise in which they acknowledge themselves or their peers for demonstrating one of the expected schoolwide learner outcomes (ESLR’s). Students post a note which describes what they or a peer did and which ESLR it exemplified, on the ESLR board. The ESLR’s align with the CASEL SEL goals and include becoming a good self-manager, being interpersonally effective, being a good community member, being a critical thinker and being a lifelong learner. The students celebrate these achievements with an ESLR community building event when all the squares on the board are marked.
Students are encouraged to engage in self-assessments and to monitor their engagement in their learning and are provided with the necessary staff support to achieve these goals. Students are acknowledged and celebrated for their efforts and engagement.