Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CBI)
Students who face traumatic events in their life are more likely to experience behavioral concerns in school. Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CBI) is a research based approach to help students begin controlling their own behaviors rather than introducing external rewards or enforcing punishments to teach correct behaviors. Students are taught how to use their inner voice, or "self talk" in order to solve a problem or prevent themselves from getting upset. The focus of CBI is to shift the students from focusing on "what to think" to "how to think" and how they can use their own thinking strategies to calm themselves down. Teachers can teach these skills through modeling and role playing appropriate behaviors and interactions between peers, positive reinforcement and feedback when a student appropriately attempts to solve a problem independently, teaching specific deescalation and calming techniques, and thinking aloud during a problem.
Successful steps for CBI include:
For example:
John pushes Thomas during a game of basketball at recess. At the beginning of the year, Thomas would have pushed him back, causing both students to get more upset. Now, through CBI, and teacher
modeling how to appropriately handle a problem, Thomas is able to be aware that he is upset and he decides to take a breath to calm himself down first. He then tells John that he does not like when he pushes him, and John does not push him again.
Successful steps for CBI include:
- Think before acting
- Distinguish the problem
- Determine solutions
- Identify consequences for each solution
- Pick a solution and follow it
For example:
John pushes Thomas during a game of basketball at recess. At the beginning of the year, Thomas would have pushed him back, causing both students to get more upset. Now, through CBI, and teacher
modeling how to appropriately handle a problem, Thomas is able to be aware that he is upset and he decides to take a breath to calm himself down first. He then tells John that he does not like when he pushes him, and John does not push him again.