ARC Grow for Medically Complex Families
A structured, evidence-informed program for parents and caregivers raising children with chronic illness, rare diseases, and complex medical conditions. Built to be a place where caregivers find compassion, understanding, and the practical tools that sustainable caregiving requires. Delivered by Maria Martinez Calderon, LMHC, a co-developer of the program.
A program built for families that medicine alone cannot heal
When a child is diagnosed with a chronic illness, rare disease, or complex medical condition, the entire family system shifts. Caregivers often spend years coordinating specialists, advocating in clinical settings, managing crises, and absorbing losses, all while trying to remain emotionally present for the child they love. Standard therapy models are rarely built for this experience.
ARC Grow for Medically Complex Families (ARC Grow MCF) was designed specifically to fill that gap. It is a 14-session caregiver-focused intervention, an adaptation of the ARC (Attachment, Regulation, and Competency) framework developed at the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute. Rather than treating the child or the family as a whole, ARC Grow MCF works directly with the caregiver, equipping the adults in the system with the regulation skills, communication tools, and self-care frameworks that sustainable caregiving requires.
ARC Grow MCF was developed through the Center for Trauma Training and the ARC Framework. At Modern Mentality, the program is delivered by Maria Martinez Calderon, LMHC, who co-developed the model alongside Kim Hager, LICSW, Kristine Kinniburgh, LCSW, and Dr. Margaret Blaustein.
What ARC Grow MCF Addresses
Caregiver Self-Care
Practical, sustainable strategies for the unique exhaustion of medically complex caregiving. Real frameworks for caregivers running on years of disrupted sleep, appointment schedules, and chronic worry.
Trauma & Developmental Impact
Understanding how medical complexity shapes a child's development and attachment patterns, and how caregivers can become regulating anchors even when the medical landscape feels chaotic.
Acknowledging the Losses
Medical complexity carries grief that is often unnamed: the typical childhood that did not unfold, the career path set aside, the friendships that quietly receded. ARC Grow MCF makes space for these losses without trying to fix them.
Regulation in the System
Tools for the caregiver and the child, recognizing that a regulated caregiver is the most powerful intervention available to a child whose nervous system has been shaped by medical trauma.
Communication with Medical Teams
Practical skill-building around how to communicate effectively with physicians, specialists, school teams, insurance carriers, and extended family.
Trauma Healing & Resilience
Strategies grounded in the ARC framework for promoting resilient outcomes, building on the strengths the family already carries rather than starting from a deficit lens.
Is ARC Grow MCF right for your family?
This program was designed specifically for caregivers whose minor child (eighteen years old or younger) is navigating medical complexity, multisystemic health issues, or rare disease. The world of complex medical care includes a sub-population of rare disease that carries its own additional layers of complication, and both groups struggle to find providers built for what they actually need.
The program is generally a fit for caregivers of a child with one or more of the following:
- A chronic medical condition requiring ongoing specialty care
- A rare disease or genetic condition
- Multisystemic health issues that touch multiple organ systems or specialties
- A complex medical history involving prolonged hospitalization, multiple surgeries, or invasive treatments
- A condition with significant uncertainty around prognosis or trajectory
- A condition that has reshaped daily family functioning, school participation, or sibling dynamics
ARC Grow MCF works with the caregiver. The child does not need to be present for the work, and caregivers do not need to wait for their child to be in a stable phase to begin. The program is often most powerful for caregivers who are still in active management of medical complexity.
The program is typically not designed for caregivers of a child with a single, well-managed condition such as asthma. That said, if you are not certain whether ARC Grow MCF is the right fit for your family, please reach out anyway. Caregivers of medically complex children have spent enough time being told "not quite the right fit" by systems that were not built for them. Maria would much rather have a conversation about whether this program meets your needs than turn a family away.
A defined arc of care
ARC Grow MCF is delivered across 14 sessions in an outpatient format at our Boston Back Bay office, with secure telehealth options available across Massachusetts. Each session combines:
The program is built around 14 sessions, with pacing tailored to each family rather than locked to a strict weekly cadence. Some sessions involve heavier emotional content that benefits from additional time between meetings to process. Caregivers know going in what the work involves and roughly when it will be complete, which is itself a relief for families who have spent years inside open-ended medical timelines.
One of four architects of the model
Maria Martinez Calderon, LMHC, is one of four co-developers of ARC Grow for Medically Complex Families. Her work on the program emerged directly from her clinical experience with caregivers of children with rare and complex medical conditions and from her peer-reviewed research on barriers to mental health services for these families, published in the Journal of Rare Diseases.
In addition to her co-developer role on ARC Grow MCF, Maria works with children, adolescents, and adults across her caseload, and is trained in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), the parent ARC framework, the ARC Grow caregiver curriculum, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). She holds certifications in integrative medicine, clinical hypnotherapy, and neuro-linguistic programming, and is fluent in English, Spanish, French, and Italian, offering therapy in all four languages.
Read Maria's Full Profile →Transparent, Self-Pay Pricing
ARC Grow MCF is offered as a self-pay specialty program. We believe in clear, upfront pricing for the work ahead.
Evidence-informed roots
The ARC (Attachment, Regulation, and Competency) framework was developed by Dr. Margaret Blaustein and Kristine Kinniburgh at the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute, the institute founded by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. ARC is recognized by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network as a promising practice for treating complex trauma in children and youth, with a growing evidence base for both child outcomes and caregiver outcomes.
ARC Grow MCF is the medically complex adaptation of this framework, built specifically for the population of caregivers whose children's complex medical needs do not fit neatly into traditional trauma treatment models.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the program?
The program is built around 14 sessions. Pacing is tailored to each family rather than locked to a strict weekly cadence, because some sessions involve heavier emotional content and benefit from additional time between meetings to process. Many caregivers complete the program over four to five months, but the timeline is centered on the caregiver's needs.
How much does the program cost?
ARC Grow MCF is offered as a self-pay program at $249 per session. Sessions are billed individually as the program progresses. Modern Mentality can provide a superbill upon request, which families may submit to their insurance carrier for potential out-of-network reimbursement based on their specific plan.
Is it covered by insurance?
ARC Grow MCF is offered out-of-network. Many PPO plans and high-deductible plans with HSAs offer some level of out-of-network mental health coverage. We provide superbills upon request so families can pursue reimbursement directly with their carrier.
Does my child need to attend?
No. ARC Grow MCF works with the caregiver. Sessions are scheduled around the caregiver's availability, not the child's, which is one of the practical advantages of the model for families managing demanding medical schedules.
Can both parents participate?
Yes. The program can be structured for one caregiver or for caregiving partners working together.
What languages is the program offered in?
English, Spanish, French, and Italian, all delivered directly by Maria.
Where is the program offered?
In-person at our Boston Back Bay office (264 Beacon Street) or via secure telehealth across Massachusetts.
What if I am not sure my family qualifies?
Please reach out anyway. Maria would much rather have a conversation about whether the program meets your needs than have a family who could benefit be turned away.
Ready to Get Started?
Maria is currently accepting families for ARC Grow for Medically Complex Families at our Boston Back Bay location, with both in-person and telehealth appointments available across Massachusetts.