Cognitive-behavioral Therapy in Schools

As schools are being pushed harder than ever to show measurable results, there are appears to be a natural shift toward Evidence-based approaches. This is leading many schools to select programs or philosophies that are based soundly on the principles of Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).


Now, after decades of research and over 450 randomized studies showing positive results, it seems as No surprise that CBT is the philosophy of choice to get results.


Other factors that seem to influencing this choice include:

• Ease of Application - the ideas are simple and easy to understand


• Face Validity - the interventions make sense to teachers, parents, and children


• Psycho-educational Emphasis - CBT is a very open model that involves a "teaching" approach
  

As a clinician, it is quite refreshing to see this shift, and the incorporation of the Cognitive aspect of interacting with children, in addition to the Behavioral. The Cognitive portion of CBT focuses more on the development of Healthy thought patterns that will result in healthy behaviors.

As I travel around and meet with School professionals, the interest appears to be very High. I have also learned of grants that have been made available to implement CBT in schools.

If you have questions about implementing CBT in your school, please email me. I would be happy to discuss this option with you, or even come to do a training in person.

If you are looking for a Fun way to engage children in the process and learn these skills, please visit http://www.cpschallenge.com/ and check out the Challenge Software Program.

Brad Chapin, LCP, LMLP brad.chapin@cpschallenge.com

Balance Your Approach to Helping Children

Think about your style of interacting with children in times of stress or conflict.

What is the Goal?

If a child is acting out, what would you like to happen?

Hopefully your answer includes the word "learning." We are wanting children to learn from their behaviors. Usually when learning is the goal, we want to offer some teaching. We can use several different approaches to teach children, and sometimes several different methods are necessary.

Think about Balancing your Approach.

Many parents and professionals teach children by applying consequences. This is similar to the way our judicial system works (search Behaviorism for more info). If applied consistently and correctly, this method can be effective for teaching children what happens when we don't follow the rules. But, is this all we want them to learn?

No. We also want them to learn Self-control. If they are simply making good choices because they are afraid of the consequences, that is not going to be effective in the long term.

For a balanced approach, to instill long-lasting change, one must consider adding other elements as well. What we refer to as Cognitive psychology, offers many ideas for teaching children how to improve Self-control. Cognitive psychology includes teaching empathy, mindfulness, self-awareness, and recognizing the relationships between thoughts, feelings and behaviors. It also focuses on the identification and processing of thoughts and feelings in healthy ways.

The Challenge Software Program teaches children the basics of Self-control and encourages them to utilize the power they have to change their behavior. This Interactive Web-based program is based on the fundamentals of Cognitive Psychology.

by Brad Chapin brad.chapin@cpschallenge.com

www.cpschallenge.com

Bullying Prevention and Self-Regulation

It's hard to escape the news of tragedies connected to Bullying in our schools these days. The headlines of the extreme cases are everywhere. And what about the thousands of stories that go untold?

Recently, the story of the South Hadley student that took her own life as a result of feeling bullied and ultimately so powerless that she saw suicide as her only option.

Mandy parents and professionals also feel powerless and confused about how to address the issue of Bullying. From experience, I can tell you that the likelihood of eliminating Bullying is slim to none. We should be focusing on how to "manage" this behavior in our children and in our schools. We need to give children the "tools" to cope with difficult social behaviors and develop the skills to respond in healthy ways.

Integrating Self-regulation training is crucial in this process. Self-regulation training gives children the Understanding about self-control, mindfulness, and empowerment that they need to cope with difficult situations in a healthy way.

The Challenge Software Program is an Interactive, Web-based tool designed to engage children quickly. It utilizes animated scenarios and games to teach children these skills. The program also has Scenarios that specifically address Bullying from the Bully's perspective and also from the Victim's perspective.

Brad Chapin

brad.chapin@cpschallenge.com

Twitter ID: chapin55

Social Stories with an Upgrade

Social Stories have been an integral part of helping children who struggle with regulation and social adjustment for many years. Recently, I was speaking at conference when one of the attendees spoke up and said that the Challenge Software Program "seems like Social Stories with an upgrade."

The program utilizes filtered video scenarios of real-life situations that children often struggle with. The scenarios are interactive and feature alternate endings to the story based on the child's navigation through the decision-making process.

This program takes the traditional social story to a whole new level of interaction and engagement that cannot be achieved through a workbook. The "Social Story" connection adds another dimension to the cognitive-behavioral approach of the program.

brad.chapin@cpschallenge.com

CS and Depressive Symptoms in Children

I'm frequently asked about how to address Depressive symptoms in children.

Depression can look different in children than in adults, but from my experience, two common themes are typically poor self-regulation and distorted perceptions. Poor self-regulation often leads to Low Self-esteem because the individual feels powerless, has unsuccessful social interactions, receives negative attention, and fails at work or school. All of these failures begin to paint a very negative picture of the future, which contribute to extreme and unhealthy ideas of one's self, others, and the outside world.

We can target Self-regulation and these Depressive thoughts with Cognitive and Behavioral interventions. The Challenge Software Program addresses the mis-perception that the child has no control over his/her responses and increases Self-regulation. This interactive, online program also offers several video scenarios featuring children in different situations, and teaches them how to challenge these extreme and unhealthy thought patterns.

We can effectively treat Depressive Symptoms in children and adults. We continue to try and help other professionals quickly engage children and utilize technology to help those children who are struggling with these difficult issues.
Brad Chapin LCP, LMLP

brad.chapin@cpschallenge.com

Back to School: Why is Self-Regulation So Important Now?

Summer is coming to an end and the thought of returning to a structured setting after 2 1/2 months of sleeping in, eating whenever, and questionable bed-times may create some anxiety for parents and professionals over the next few weeks.

Self-regulation is always an important topic, but the first few weeks of school are so important for setting the tone of the school year, that there may be no better time to focus on it. Emotional control is a large part of self-regulation, but so are things like:

Organizing materials

Creating a schedule and following it

Choosing what to pay attention to

Choosing to follow the rules of the classroom

Choosing who to be close friends with

Many of these regulation topics, along with emotional control, will dictate the tone of the school year. Exercises and reminders about choices, personal responsibility and self-management are always helpful, but the beginning of the year presents its own challenges and may require some additional reinforcement:)

Please remember to Visit http://www.cpschallenge.com/ for more information on a Unique internet-based tool to teach the basics of Self-regulation.

School Violence and Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention

What causes these extreme cases of school violence? What could cause such an extreme act of violence like the recent mass shooting Germany?

It seems like each time we are faced with that question, most people end up agreeing that it starts with some type of mental health issues like depression, anger problems, self-esteem, difficulty coping with stress, or social incompetence. Yet, what things are put into place to prevent it from happening again?

If operating from a Cognitive Psychology Perspective, one understands that feelings and actions are precipitated by thoughts. Think for a moment about what must be going on in the thoughts of someone who commits such horrific actions. One thing is for sure. The thoughts must have been EXTREME. So extreme that the individual sees no other option. This is when violence toward self or others occurs.

This is a scary subject. After these events take place, it's difficult to think about your children sitting next to someone in class that has never been taught how to moderate their thinking.

This is more evidence to support the notion that we should be spending time teaching every child how to problem-solve and challenge their own extreme and unhealthy thoughts. The Challenge Software Program was designed to teach children how to moderate their thinking processes.

If You're Not Using CBT, What Exactly are you Doing?

With research mounting on how effective Cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBT) are in treating mental health issues in children and adolescents, the question becomes:

If you aren't using some form of CBT in your interventions, then what exactly are you doing?

The studies have included depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, ADHD, and other issues. The UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence suggests that CBT should be the first-line intervention for children with all levels of depression. The Center for Disease Control reports CBT is effective for children and teenagers in treating anxiety, depressive disorders, and symptoms resulting from trauma.

As parents and professionals, we need to choose interventions that work, and use them as a First-line intervention. There are many other forms of intervention with little or no research to back them up.

With CBT interventions, like the Challenge Software Program, that are fun, affordable and easy to use, being made readily available, there seems to be no reason why children struggling with these symptoms aren't being given access to effective intervention.

Do you have the Courage?

Having the courage it takes to incorporate Cognitive interventions requires a shift in traditional thinking. As parents and professionals, most of us are more "familiar" with traditional Behavioral interventions. For example, we tend to focus more on using Consequences and applying the "right type of discipline" to change unwanted behaviors. While Behavioral interventions alone can be effective, we must consider the cost.

Isn't the goal of our interactions with children, to help them reach the point that they will make healthy choices, even when noone is around to apply a consequence if they don't? Integrating Cognitive interventions will help to do just this.

To illustrate, lets take an example of two children arguing over a toy. Simply applying a Behavioral Consequence to this situation might look like this:
"You two share, or I'll take the toy away."
This solution deprives the children of learning problem-solving. It can also create a great deal of anger, as the children feel that they are being "controlled" and may lash out to "win" the power struggle.

In contrast, when integrating a Cognitive intervention, the parent or professional may say something like this:
"You both want the toy and are fighting about it. What is a better way to solve this?"
You will be surprised at how well children can solve these problems on their own. They are also gaining valuable competence and self-esteem for solving the problem on their own. Priceless:)

If applying a more Cognitive style makes sense to you and you would like to learn more,
Please take a look at the Challenge Software Program as a way to help you implement this approach in an Engaging and Interactive format.

Challenge Software Program and CBT Getting Attention

During its Beta Trial, the Challenge Software Program had over 750 Beta users around the world. The interest continues to grow regarding this "revolutionary" new program designed to teach children the basics of Cognitive-Behavioral interventions and put them into practice. Children all over the country have been watching and using the interactive scenarios of everyday situations. The program uses technology, including video games, to engage children quickly and hold their attention. The video games within the scenario represent the internal conflict, which must be resolved, that takes places when a decision is being made.

The positive comments continue to come in from around the country from professionals and parents. It's great to hear that so many adults understand the importance of teaching this skill. I am especially encouraged when parents recognize that without the ability to self-regulate, life is very difficult to manage. Some of us take this issue for granted because we learned the skill very early on, probably from someone close to us. However, there are still many children, and adults, that may not have been exposed to, or taught how to stay calm and focus their energy on things that they can control. This is why we will continue to tell others about the Challenge Software Program.