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Effective Individual and Group Interventions

Effective Individual and Group Interventions

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Schools offer effective group and individual interventions that build students’ skills to manage mental health challenges. The first set of webinars are focused on work with angry and aggressive children and youth. Skill-building is an important component of effective intervention, increasing the likelihood students will be able to cope better, spend more time in class, and build the skills they need to keep moving toward graduation, college and career ready.

Counseling Students Experiencing Anger and Aggression

Students who do not manage their anger, and are aggressive in school are at risk of exclusionary discipline and not graduating. An approach which helps these children and youth learn skills to get along better in school is a proactive approach to a common school problem. The first set of modules provide an overview of the evidence based practice of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Interventions. Once these webinars are completed, and reviewed, age-specific training is offered on two evidence-based programs for angry and aggressive students: Anger Coping (grades 4–8) and Think First (high school).

Overview of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Interventions in Schools

Introductory and Overview Modules

Meant to be viewed first and in order

Module Name

Brief Description

Understanding the Social-Cognitive Distortions and Deficits of Students Experiencing Anger and Aggression

Gain insight into the social-cognitive deficits frequently seen in students with reactive aggression. Identify typical, late, and atypical development of self-regulation. You will learn to differentiate between effective and ineffective strategies for responding to youth exhibiting reactive aggression, and learn about the treatment implications that impulsivity, cognitive delays and cognitive distortions play in the development of social-problem-solving.

Treatment of Anger and Reactive Aggression

 

Learn to differentiate between useful, well-regulated anger and problematic anger in school. Gain understanding of the three components of anger and how each component needs to be addressed when intervening.

Gender Differences in the Expression of Anger

 

Learn the risk factors of aggressive girls; content is often about boys; qualitative differences of nature of aggression; reasons for having gender segregated groups

Critical Cognitive Behavior Therapy Insights and Building Generalization

Gain critical cognitive behavior therapy insights and learn to build in generalization.

Think First: An Evidence-Based Group Intervention for High School Students

Think First: An Evidence-Based Group Intervention for Angry and Aggressive High School Students

Module Name

Brief Description

Think First Introduction: Screening, Identification, and Progress Monitoring

Become familiar with the goals and training objectives of the Think First program, with the characteristics of students who can and who are unlikely to benefit from Think First intervention, and with direct and indirect methods for identifying participants and monitoring progress.

Think First: Group Structure and Initial Sessions: Introductions, Choices and Consequences

Become familiar with activities to promote group structure, with “housekeeping” options of the group. Find and prepare to use the “Academic Self-Monitoring:

Think First: Hassle Log and Anger Reducers

Become familiar with the Hassle Log, with a definition of anger, with dimensional anger vocabulary, with physiological anger cues, and with palliative anger reducers.

Think First: Anger Triggers and Attribution Retraining

Become familiar with teaching how to understand, describe, and identify one’s own most problematic external anger triggers; with teaching how to understand, describe and identify one’s own most common thought triggers, and with how to differentiate the features of intentional hostility from other intensions.

Think First: Self-Instruction and Consequential Thinking

Become familiar with concepts of self-instruction and their use in anger regulation, and with teaching consequential thinking as a way to avoid unwanted trouble.

Think First: Social Problem Solving

Become familiar with strategies to break down conflicts into solvable problems; with systematic problem solving steps; and with how to help group participants to address at least one major school problem.

Anger Coping: An Evidence-Based Group Intervention for Upper Elementary and Middle School Students

Anger Coping: An Evidence-Based Group Intervention for Angry and Aggressive Upper Elementary and Middle School Students

Module Name

Brief Description

Anger Coping: Screening, Identification and Progress Monitoring

 

Become familiar with the goals and training objectives of the Anger Coping program, with the characteristics of students who can and who are unlikely to benefit from Anger Coping intervention, and with direct and indirect methods for identifying participants and monitoring progress.

Anger Coping: Group Management and First Sessions

 

Become familiar with activities to promote group structure, with the “housekeeping” options of the group; with strategies for behavior management in the group; with strategies to promote generalization, and with how to teach goal-setting.

Anger Coping: Middle Sessions

Learn strategies to help students change perspectives and understand the thought-feeling connection; learn about the role of anger is social problem solving; learn strategies to help students identify the physiological aspects of anger.

Anger Coping: Teaching and Practice Problem Solving

Learn to teach students to find anger cues; learn strategies to help students generate possible actions and analyze possible consequences; learn strategies to help students use a problem-solving process; learn ways to help students practice; learn strategies to support maintenance and prevent relapse.

 

SBIRT

SBIRT stands for Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment. First developed for alcohol and other drug treatment for adults, it has begun to be used for adolescents as well. It has an evidence base for adults with alcohol and other drug abuse (AODA) issues. SBIRT’s evidence base for use with adolescents with AODA issues is growing. It is now being used as an emerging practice for children and youth with mental health challenges. The Wisconsin Safe and Healthy Schools Center or WISH Center offers training in SBIRT.

Teen Self-Care Planning

What Is a Self-Care Plan and Why?

The Self-Care Plan process and document is designed as a self-discovery tool and conversation starter with youth about their overall well-being. The hope is that youth will feel empowered by the process, which is driven by their ideas, beliefs, and actions. They assess their well-being in eight different areas of their life and consider any new choices they would like to explore as well as the people who can support their choices. The planning process can help youth to understand the importance of balance across the eight areas of well-being.

The Self-Care Plan document is meant to travel with the youth and apply to the various settings of their life. The youth “owns” their plan and can invite caring adults, both personal and professional, to view the plan as a way to increase understanding and effective supports. Self-Care Plans can be used in different settings for a variety of purposes that include one-on-one counseling, group counseling, transition planning between schools or from treatment or corrections placements, after-school programs, youth in foster care, and with youth with emerging MH issues. They can also be used in a classroom that focuses on teen wellness.