Approximately 2/3 of all children referred to mental health agencies are labeled as having Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. These children are at increased risk for poor outcomes including academic failure, deviant peer groups, drug use, violenece, and deliquency. Identifying and treating these children as early as possible offers promise for stregnthening child protective factors such as social, emotional, and academic competence and effective parenting, thereby preventing and reducing the development of conduct problems and other secondary risk factors. The book has two elements -- first it allows parents to tell thier stories: sharing what it is like to have a "problem" child as well as the long and painful route to finding support and recovery through parent and child training. The book also elucidates in detail the "collaborative process" of therapists working together with familes. This process combines the knowledge and expertise of the clinician with the unique stregnths, perspectives, culture and goals of parents. Essentially the goal is to empower parents by making them active partners in the therapy process, teaching them parenting strategies to cope effectively with their child and stregnthen their relationship as well as build support networks. The book uses case examples to illustrate these points and provides examples of how to tailor the parent programs for high-risk populations and multicultural families. Examples of when and how to add adjunct therapies such as child and teacher training are also discussed, providing a comprehensive guide for the collaborative process for therapists using the Incredible Years® programs.

This book is the first to systematically describe the key components necessary to ensure successful implementation of Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) across mental health settings and non-mental health settings that require behavioral management. This resource is designed by the leading experts in CPS and is focused on the clinical and implementation strategies that have proved most successful within various private and institutional agencies. The book begins by defining the approach before delving into the neurobiological components that are key to understanding this concept. Next, the book covers the best practices for implementation and evaluating outcomes, both in the long and short term. The book concludes with a summary of the concept and recommendations for additional resources, making it an excellent concise guide to this cutting edge approach. Collaborative Problem Solving is an excellent resource for psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and all medical professionals working to manage troubling behaviors. The text is also valuable for readers interested in public health, education, improved law enforcement strategies, and all stakeholders seeking to implement this approach within their program, organization, and/or system of care.

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

The Achieving-Behaving-Caring (ABC) Program is an evidence-based approach to addressing the needs of elementary students at risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties and promoting successful home-school collaboration. This practical guide demonstrates how classroom teachers and parents can work together to boost individual children's strengths, reduce problems that interfere with learning, and provide classwide social skills training. The use of trained parent liaisons is a special feature of the program. Detailed, step-by-step instructions for implementing ABC are accompanied by many useful case illustrations and tips. The book includes more than two dozen reproducible handouts and forms, in a convenient large-size format. This book is in The Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools Series, edited by Sandra M. Chafouleas.

Having a child with challenging behavior can be frustrating and affect the entire family. This workbook will help you take a more positive attitude toward your child and carry out effective steps to improve behavior. You will begin to feel more confident in your parenting skills and more optimistic about your child's future. The program outlined in this workbook will be tailored to your child's and family's needs and goals. It will teach you how to identify what sets off your child's problem behavior, as well as what your child gets or avoids from misbehaving. You will learn strategies to prevent problems, manage consequences, and teach your child new skills. With the help of your facilitator you will design a behavior support plan for your child. Finally, you will put the plan into effect and monitor the results. Throughout the program, you will be practicing how to think more positively, which can help you be a better parent. In addition to working with your facilitator in session, you will be completing homework assignments using the workbook. Each chapter provides the information and forms you need to assess your child's behavior, apply new strategies, and track your family's progress. As you support positive behavior step by step, you will be working towards improving the lives of your child and your family.

In addition to introducing readers to the field of family-based prevention science, Family-Based Prevention Programs for Children and Adolescents highlights the distinctive contributions of a set of exemplary programs in terms of their foundational theory, design, delivery mechanisms, performance, and unique opportunities for future research. It is organized into three sections to orient readers to: the existence of different types of family-based programs targeting families with children of different ages; the strategies and challenges that arise when attempting large-scale dissemination of prevention programs; and, the emerging innovations that promise to push the field forward into uncharted territories. Each chapter is written by a preeminent program developer, including: Gene H. Brody Richard F. Catalano Patricia Chamberlain Thomas J. Dishion Marion S. Forgatch Kevin P. Haggerty Cleve Redmond Matthew R. Sanders Richard L. Spoth Carolyn Webster-Stratton Contributors review the state of the research and then provide a summary of their own program, including research and dissemination efforts. They also discuss take-home lessons for practitioners and policymakers, and provide their view of the future of program development and research in their area. As an important signpost signifying the noteworthy achievements of the field to date, as well as an arrow pointing the field toward significant growth in the future, this book is a must-have primary resource for graduate students in developmental or clinical psychology, counseling, family sciences, social work, or health policy, and an essential guide for practitioners and policymakers in the field of family-based prevention, family service delivery, or public health.

A growing body of evidence supports the cost-effective contention that parents can be trained to participate in resolving their children's behavior problems by applying individualized techniques based on learning principles.