Limited Space in CPS Groups Starting April 13th!!! (In Springfield and Via Web)

If you are interested in Collaborative Problem Solving Classes at The Child Center, I would like to invite you to one of the two classes starting on Wednesday, April 13th! We are excited to offer the classes in person at The Child Center in Springfield or streamed via your computer or smartphone! (As of April 1st, both groups have some space, but are filling up quickly! No joke!)

Lunchtime Class: CPS class from 1130PM-130PM each Wednesday. Lunch will be provided. No child care. Limit of 20 adult participants on site. Limit 20 participants via web or phone.

Evening Class: CPS class from 5PM to 730PM on Wednesday evenings. Dinner and a limited number of childcare slots provided. Limitof 20 adult participants on site. Limit 20 participants via web or phone. 15 childcare slots.

Each class will meet on the following dates:

4/13, 4/20, 4/27, 5/4, 5/11, 5/18, 5/25, 6/1

Cost: Free to participants. No insurance requirements.

If you are interested:

Please get back to me ASAP via email or phone with the following information: (You can also use the sign up form at collaborativeparent.com

1. Lunch or evening class?
2. Number of adults to attend?
3. If you are signing up for the evening class and need childcare: Number of children and their ages. (We typically provide care for children 3 and up.) (No guarantee on these right now..close to full!)
4. Would you like to participate from home via web or phone?  Video conferencing requires email address, laptop/computer/phone with camera, and an internet connection. Teleconference requires phone.

Thank you so much for your interest in Collaborative Problem Solving! I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Mark

541.726.1465 x207

Mark@CollaborativeParent.org

CollaborativeParent.org

Collaborative Problem Solving Level 1 Training, Bend OR June 4-6

The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry within Oregon Health and Science University is providing a Tier 1 Training in Collaborative Problem Solving. State support of this training, through the Oregon Health Authority, allows us to offer this Tier 1 at a significantly reduced cost.  This reduced cost Tier 1 training is geared toward minimizing the financial impact on our community partners and ensures access to this innovative training. Space is limited and we will be prioritizing registration for state supported agencies, providers, educators, and families located in central Oregon. Please feel free to share the attached registration form with others. The training will be held in Bend, Oregon June 4-6, 2014. You can find additional information about Collaborative Problem Solving at www.ohsu.edu/cps. Please feel free to contact us directly if you have additional questions.

Erik J Kola RN

Coordinator/Instructor Collaborative Problem Solving Program

OHSU Department of Psychiatry

Mail Code: IPP

3633 SE 35th Place

Portland, OR 97202

(w) 503-418-5226

(c) 503-577-8757

(fax) 503-346-1487

kola@ohsu.edu

Beth Putz, MA

Instructor, Collaborative Problem Solving Program

OHSU Department of Psychiatry

Mail Code: IPP

3633 SE 35^th Place

Portland, OR 97202

putz@ohsu.edu

Office: 503-346-1482

Fax: 503-346-1487

Collaborative Problem Solving Tier 1 Registration Bend, Oregon.pdf

New Website!

I am happy to announce Collaborative Parent 

has a new website! 

Check it out at collaborativeparent.org! 

This site will remain active and the content from this blog and the Collaborative Therapist blog will be easily accessible through the new site!

Thanks for visiting!

Mark

The Child Center and CPS Classes in the News!

Thanks very much to KEZI for featuring The Child Center and Collaborative Problem Solving Parent Classes in their stories related to the Rotary Duck Race! Also, a very special thank you to Mike and Debbie for participating in the interview! And one more thank you to everyone who has bought a duck!

http://www.kezi.com/2012-duck-race-helping-parents-succeed/

2012 Duck Race: The Child Center | KEZI:

Go Duck Race Ducks!

Week 5 Review

                                                                Week 5 of 5

Week five of the Living Better with Challenging Children Collaborative Problem Solving Parent Group offers parents practice with Plan B.

If you are reading this as a therapist, teacher, or other professional working with a child or family, background knowledge of the model is recommended.

Week 5 Practice:

The group practices Plan B by participating in role plays. Each participant role-played as a child, an adult and a Plan B Coach. 

Week 5 Information:

No new information presented.

Plan B in a Nutshell (again...)

Step 1.  Empathy/ Reassurance

             Drilling down to find the concerns.

“What's Up” + Empathy Statements

Step 2.  Define the Problem

 Putting both concerns on the table

“I hear you are upset about____ and I am concerned that______.”

Step 3.  Invitation

 Child generates solutions, becomes part of process.

“Let's work on this.” / “Do you have any ideas?”

 “That's an idea.”

 Is it doable? Does it meet both our concerns?

 ”Let's give this a try!”

Week 5 Homework:

Go forth and use Plan B!

Week 5 Handouts:

Week 4 Review

         Week 4 of 8

Week four of the Living Better with Challenging Children Collaborative Problem Solving Parent Group offers parents practice with Plan B.

If you are reading this as a therapist, teacher, or other professional working with a child or family, background knowledge of the model is recommended.

Week 4 Practice:

The group identified missing Plan B ingredients in several vignettes and practiced Plan B by participating in 3 role plays. Each participant role-played as a child and an adult. 

Week 4 Information:

No new information presented.

Plan B in a Nutshell

Step 1.  Empathy/ Reassurance

             Drilling down to find the concerns.

“What's Up” + Empathy Statements

Step 2.  Define the Problem

 Putting both concerns on the table

“I hear you are upset about____ and I am concerned that______.”

Step 3.  Invitation

 Child generates solutions, becomes part of process.

“Let's work on this.” / “Do you have any ideas?”

 “That's an idea.”

 Is it doable? Does it meet both our concerns?

 ”Let's give this a try!”

Week 4 Homework:

Try more pro-active Plan B with your child

Read chapters 10 and 11

Week 4 Handouts:

No additional handouts

Bill of Rights for Challenging Kids

Bill of Rights for Behaviorally Challenging Kids by Ross Greene, Phd

If we don’t start doing right by kids with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges, we’re going to keep losing them at an astounding rate. Doing the right thing isn’t an option…it’s an imperative. There are lives in the balance, and we all need to do everything we can to make sure those lives aren’t lost. Behaviorally challenging kids have the right:

- To have their behavioral challenges understood as a form of developmental delay in the domains of flexibility/adaptability, frustration tolerance, and problem-solving

- To have people -- parents, teachers, mental health clinicians, doctors, coaches...everyone -- understand that challenging behavior is no less a form of developmental delay than delays in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and is deserving of the same compassion and approach as are applied to these other cognitive delays.

- Not to be misunderstood and counterproductively labeled as bratty, spoiled, manipulative, attention-seeking, coercive, limit-testing, controlling, or unmotivated.

- To have adults understand that challenging behavior occurs in response to specific unsolved problems -- homework, screen time, teeth brushing, clothing choices, sibling interactions, and so forth -- and that these unsolved problems are usually highly predictable and can therefore be solved proactively.

- To have adults understand that the primary goal of intervention is to collaboratively solve these problems in a way that is realistic and mutually satisfactory so that they don't precipitate challenging behavior any more.

- To have adults (and classmates) understand that time-outs, detentions, suspensions, expulsion, and isolation do not solve problems or "build character" but rather often make things worse.

- To have adults take a genuine interest in their concerns or perspectives, and to have those concerns and perspectives viewed as legitimate, important, and worth listening to and clarifying.

- To have adults in their lives who do not resort to physical intervention and are knowledgeable about and proficient in other means of solving problems.

- To have adults who understand that solving problems collaboratively -- rather than insisting on blind adherence to authority -- is what prepares kids for the demands they will face in the real world.

- To have adults understand that blind obedience to authority is dangerous, and that life in the real world requires expressing one's concerns, listening to the concerns of others, and working toward mutually satisfactory solutions.



If you agree with what you've just read, print the Bill of Rights and post it in your home, office, or workplace. If you want to help Lives in the Balance let people who make important decisions affecting behaviorally challenging kids know that you endorse the above principles, sign it (just click below)! And if you need a clean copy of the Bill of Rights, CLICK HERE.

Sign the Bill of Rights



Bill of Rights for Challenging Kids under the Collaborative Problem Solving approach | Lives in the Balance

Timeout Revisited – Dealing with Challenging Kids Parts 1 and 2 — The Psych Files Podcast

Here are two podcast interviews with Ross Greene discussing the effectiveness and issues around the age-old standby parenting strategy of timeout.

Enjoy!

Episode 33: Timeout Revisited – Dealing with Challenging Kids Part 1 — The Psych Files Podcast

Episode 34: Timeout Revisited – Dealing with Challenging Kids Part 2 — The Psych Files Podcast

CPS Training Coming to Portland!

There will be a ThinkKids sponsored CPS Teir 1 training coming to Portland on July 14th, 15th, and 16th! The training is being presented by Erik Kola, RN and Ed Keating, LCSW. I have heard good things about both presenters! Should be good!

A Moment of Plan B

A Moment of Plan B

Background: This girl, about 10 years old, had a meltdown the week prior when pulled out of a class at school for a therapy appointment. She usually enjoys being pulled and uses the therapy time well. She does have trouble with expressing herself when upset, usually loses her ability to communicate in words, shuts down with her head on her desk, and often tosses her notebook or tips her desk over, necessitating a room clear. That is what happened last week when her therapist came to pull her: her head hit the desk, the binder flew, the class left, and the principal was called. Below is something pretty close to a Plan B conversation with the student a few days later.

Empathy:

Therapist: You remember last week when I came to pull you? That seemed really hard, what was up?

Kid: I really like that class.

Therapist: You really like that class?

Kid: Yeah, we do cool stuff in there. I don't like to miss it.

Therapist: So the deal was you just didn't want to miss that class?

Kid: Yeah.

Therapist: Hmmmm. That's it?

Kid: Yup.

Define the Problem: 

Therapist: O.K. So you really like that class and my concern is that I need to do my job by meeting with you and I want you to stay safe.

Invitation:

Do you have any ideas about how we could work this out?

Kid: Well, you could get me during math. Except you should check 'cause sometimes we do some experiemnts in there that I don't want to miss.

Therapist: O.K. So, you'd like me to pull you during math and to check first to see if there is anything really impiortant going on that you don't want to miss?

Kid: Yeah.

Therapist: Well, that time, math, would work for me. The only problem I see is that if the time did not work for you, if you decided against going with me at that time, I might not be able to reschedule you for later in the day or later in the week. What if we were not able to reschedule for the week? Do you think that would be OK with you?

Kid: I guess, yeah.

Therapist: OK, lets give that a try next week. We can check back in and see how it's working.


Content note: References to families, teens, or kids are composites with changed details for illustration and do not represent any one child or family. 

TCC Newsletter Featuring CPS Groups

Below is a link to the Spring 2011 Newsletter from The Child Center with a feature story about Collaborative Problem Solving Parent Groups! Take a peek! There is information in the article about upcoming groups as well...

Link to The Child Center Spring 2011 Newsletter

Plan A: Tables Turned

I carried a screaming almost-four-year-old to bed last night.

That is certainly one advantage to having a child of almost-four: portability. I can pick my child up, kicking and screaming, and physically move him. I can, ultimately, make things happen by imposing my will. Hopefully, some cognitive development will happen over the next few years and I won't be faced with a screaming and kicking fourteen-year-old!

I recently spoke with a family in crisis who have a 14 year old boy. There were serious problems at bedtime. There was screaming (teen and adult). There was kicking (teen). There was a hole in a wall. And, well, a 14 year-old who was about as big as his parents. Nobody was picking him up, carrying him kicking and screaming down the hall, and putting him in bed! Not gonna happen.

This young man had always struggled with some behavior issues and had really started laying down the law in his home lately: It was "his way or the highway." Sound familiar? Plan A.

There was a long history of school difficulties and behavior problems which thinly masked a number of lagging thinking skills. Additionally, the parents were experiencing some undesirable side-effects of fourteen years of Plan A. The unintended learning that can go along with Plan A can be that “might makes right,” it is acceptable to use power, force, intimidation, or aggression to get your way, blindly obey those in authority, or don't bother expressing your concerns because adults don't listen. These are not values parents say they want for their children. This becomes especially true when parents are faced with an angry, intimidating, out-of-control teenager!

What now? (A little CPS)

Rebuilding some sort of relationship with this particular teenager will be a long and grueling proposition requiring change, patience, and dedication. But that's the definition of being a parent, isn't it?

Change can start with assessing the child or teen's lagging thinking skills: what thinking skills are needed to function in his/her daily life? Difficult behavior will be found at times the environment is requiring a skill which the child does not have. The initial focus on lagging thinking skills allows adults to see their child in a new light: It allows adults to see the child in the light of “ Kids do well if they can.” Again, if you don't have the skills, you are not going to do it. No matter how hard you try. The “kids do well if they can” lens also moves parents from the position of “enforcer of rules” to “teacher of skills.” Some items can be dealt with using Plan C; removing the expectation “for now” while other issues are dealt with.

The big intervention in CPS will be Plan B. Essentially, Plan B involves a semi-structured conversation with the child in which the parent uses empathy to find out what the child's concern is, defines the problem, and then invites the child to brainstorm solutions. (Sounds easy without all the detail...there is a lot more...)

For more a more detailed abbreviation of CPS, please see The 533 of CPS.

Back to my house...

I have a few years before 14, thankfully. My boy and I will have to talk a little Plan B talk. More on this later!

Content note: References to families, teens, or kids are composites with changed details for illustration and do not represent any one child or family. 

CPS in Restrictive Therapeutic Facilities Program 1, 01/12/11 by Ross Greene | Blog Talk Radio

This is the beginning of a series by Ross Greene focused on implementing CPS in restrictive settings such as residential and psychiatric day treatment programs. Very well worth a listen if you have a child in one of these programs and worth studying if you work kids in one of these settings! Enjoy!

CPS in Restrictive Therapeutic Facilities Program 1 01/12/11 by rossgreene | Blog Talk Radio

Anytown High School Session 1 1/31/2011 - Ross Greene PhD | Internet Radio | Blog Talk Radio

Wow!

Last Friday, nine therapists from The Child Center were able to spend the day viewing Dr. Ross Greene while he did a training in Portland via the internet.

The training was fantastic! (More on this later...)

Near the end of the day, he mentioned that he is working with a High School which is implementing CPS. The really exciting part of it is that we can vicariously learn all about it by listening to the actual consultation sessions via the web! Below is a link to the first of the two sessions which are posted at this time!

Enjoy!

Anytown High School Session 1 1/31/2011 - Ross Greene PhD | Internet Radio | Blog Talk Radio

The 533 of Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS Cliff Notes)

The 5-3-3 of CPS: A Summary

Collaborative Problem-Solving (CPS) involves looking at explosive children with a different philosophy. CPS describes explosive children as having Learning Disabilities in 5 different pathways which are needed to adaptively solve problems and make decisions in their lives. Just as a child with a Learning Disability in reading is not making a choice not to read, a child with a LD in one of the 5 Pathways described below is not choosing to misbehave, have explosions, become destructive or aggressive, and continually behave in a way that prompts adults to behave in a way that creates more misery for the child. In other words, kids do well if they can. This is different than the common wisdom that “kids do well if they want to” which prescribes interventions focused on getting the child to “want to” do better (rewards and punishments). CPS teaches that explosive children are typically living a miserable and unhappy existence and do not lack the motivation to better. Rather, these children lack the skills to do better in their environment. Punishment and reward, without the development of the necessary skills to do better, are ineffective and create further frustrations for the child.

5 Pathways:

1. Executive Functioning Skills: Problems with organization and planning, shifting activities or thoughts, Anticipating problems
2. Language Processing Skills: Receptive or Expressive language difficulties cripple problem-solving because thinking and communicating both require language.
3. Emotional Regulation Skills: Chronic irritability or other negative feelings impair the ability to control and modulate emotions even before a child is frustrated.
4. Cognitive Flexibility Skills: Black and white, rigid, all-or-nothing, rule-bound, literal/concrete thinking gets in the way of seeing the grey in problem situations or social situations.
5. Social Skills: Cognitive distortions/thinking errors, or deficits in skills needed to perceive the social environment and engage with others make relationships and social situations difficult.

3 Plans: (To work with behaviors and expectations)

1. Plan A: Ask yourself: “Is the behavior important or undesirable enough to induce and endure a meltdown?”
   1. Increases the likelihood of explosive episodes through the imposition of adult will. Does not teach lagging skills. Does address adult concern/expectation.
   2. Reserved for very undesirable behaviors or safety concerns.
   3. Plan A behaviors should be behaviors that your child is able to meet on a fairly consistent basis.
   4. Plan A behaviors are behaviors which you are able to enforce.
      
      
2. Plan C: Pick your battles! Low priority items which can be dealt with later on.
   1. Decreases the likelihood of explosive episodes by removing frustrations and modifying the environment so the child’s ability to cope is not outstripped by the demands of situations. Does not teach lagging skills. Does not address adult concern/expectation.
   2. Expectations which you have decided not to enforce or ignore for the time being. Can come back to it later.
      
      
3. Plan B: Expectations which are important to meet. Adult serves a “surrogate frontal lobe” for child.
   1. Decreases the likelihood of explosive episodes by taking the child’s concerns into consideration and involving them in the solution. Teaches skills which will help the child deal with inflexibility and frustration in the future. Addresses adult concern/expectation as well as the child’s concern.
   2. Proactive Plan B is a planned conversation during a calm time. Emergency Plan B happens at the beginning stages of a meltdown and may help to avert the crisis. Proactive Plan B is easier and more effective because nobody is on the verge of crisis.

3 Steps of Plan B

Prethinking Plan B: Remember that you do not know where the plane is going to land when it takes off…

1. Empathy plus Reassurance: Reflective listening or “I hear you” followed by reassurance that your are not using Plan A.
2. Define the Problem: A problem is two concerns that have yet to be reconciled. Get the child’s concern first, then put yours on the table. Keep working until you have concerns rather than solutions.
3. Invitation: Invite the child to solve the problem with you. “How could we work this out? Do you have any ideas?”
   -A solution should: Be doable by both parties, realistic, and mutually satisfactory.

This summary is based on: The Explosive Child by Ross W. Greene and training by J. Stuart Ablon. It is written for the Living Better with Challenging Children presentation series by it’s presenters, Mark Beach, Corey Jackson, and Rick Chamberlain who can be reached at 541.726.1465 or through http://groups.yahoo.com/group/collaborativeproblemsolving/