Company Profile
Advanced Therapeutic Solutions
Company Overview
Advanced Therapeutic Solutions is a new group practice started in 2011 that specializes in anxiety disorders. Started by clinical psychologist Carmen Lynas, Ph.D., one of ATS's main projects is Adventure Camp, an in-vivo, in-situ exposure therapy program to treat selective mutism. As a new practice, ATS is adding providers and is seeking talented clinicians who are interested in working with children, families, and adults suffering from a range of anxiety disorders and depression. Aside from selective mutism, other disorders commonly treated at ATS include social phobia, specific phobias, OCD, panic disorder, depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and separation anxiety. ATS is an out-of-network provider, allowing for more flexibility in treatment options, including in-vivo and in-situ exposures like Adventure Camp.
CURRENT PROJECT: Adventure Camp, Intensive Treatment for Selective Mutism
Selective mutism is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a "consistent failure to speak in specific social situations (in which there is an expectation for speaking, e.g., at school) despite speaking in other situations." If you have not encountered a child with SM, it is likely you will. Selective mutism is not as rare as once believed; recent studies show an increase in prevalence rates of 1 in 140 children.
Advanced Therapeutic Solutions (ATS) aims to provide innovative evidence-based treatments for anxiety disorders. ATS launched Adventure Camp in 2011, which aims to provide intensive treatment to help children with SM. In addition to providing treatment, a secondary project goal is to bring awareness and training to others who may not otherwise know how to work with a child who is selectively mute. Adventure Camp is a 1-week (30 hrs) intensive treatment for children ages 4 to 13. It is an in-vivo, in-situ exposure therapy program that systematically desensitizes children to a classroom school setting, 1-2 weeks before real school starts. Each child is assigned a camp counselor who is trained in the AC intervention. The counselor coaches the child through the simulated school day, in a real classroom, using the AC skills. Skills include shaping, fading, modeling, systematic desensitization, and contingency reinforcement.
ATS serves children and families in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook and surrounding areas, as well as out-of-state families who travel to receive this innovative intensive treatment. For more information, visit www.SelectiveMutismTreatment.net.
Company History
Carmen Lynas, Ph.D. started ATS in 2011 after receiving numerous referrals to treat selective mutism. To address the dearth of treatment available for SM in the Chicago area, Dr. Lynas started Adventure Camp, an intensive group exposure therapy program, with the intention of treating more children at once, as well as training other mental health providers on effective SM treatment. Dr. Lynas envisions ATS growing into a multidisciplinary organization that can address the multiple needs of adults, families, and children efficiently, effectively, and with compassion.
Notable Accomplishments / Recognition
ATS is the only organization in Illinois and surrounding states that provides an intensive 30-hr treatment program for selective mutism, modeled after Brave Buddies, a program stated by Steven Kurtz, Ph.D., ABPP of Child Mind Institute of New York. ATS was the first in the nation to replicate Brave Buddies, and as of 2013, there is only one other replicating site located in Boston.