COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING
Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) is an approach to understanding and helping children with behavioral challenges originated by Dr. Ross Greene. The CPS model views behavioral challenges as a form of learning disability or developmental delay -- in other words, behaviorally challenging kids are lacking crucial cognitive skills, especially in the domains of flexibility, frustration tolerance, and problem-solving -- and seeks to create fundamental changes in interactions between kids with behavioral challenges and their adult caregivers by having caregivers engage kids in solving problems collaboratively. Dr. Ross Greene is the author of The Explosive Child and Lost at School is the founder of Lives in the Balance.
Think Kids uses Collaborative Problem Solving and works out of MGH Hospital in Boston, MA. Here is the document we will use to think about a child. Kids do Well if They Can is an amazing article that helps you rethink problem behaviors.
"This is the most important theme of Collaborative Problem Solving: the belief that if kids could do well they would do well. In other words, if the kid had the skills to exhibit adaptive behavior, he wouldn’t be exhibiting challenging behavior. That’s because doing well is always preferable to not doing well." Ross Greene
The first ingredient called the Empathy step -- is to gather information so as to achieve the clearest understanding of the kid's concern or perspective about a given unsolved problem. The second ingredient (called the Define the Problem step) is to enter into consideration adult concerns on the same unsolved problem. The third ingredient involves having child and adult brainstorm solutions so as to arrive at a plan of action that is both realistic and mutually satisfactory...in other words, a solution that addresses both concerns.
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