dr ablon collaborative problem solving

Mass General Research Institute

J. Stuart Ablon, Ph.D.

Research Interests

Research narrative.

J. Stuart Ablon, Ph.D., is the Director of Think:Kids in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ablon co-founded the Center for Collaborative Problem Solving where he also served as Co-Director from its inception until 2008. Dr. Ablon is co-author of Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem Solving Approach and author of numerous articles, chapters and scientific papers on the process and outcome of psychosocial interventions. A dynamic and engaging speaker, Dr. Ablon was recently ranked #5 on the list of the world’s top rated keynote speakers in the academic arena.

Dr. Ablon’s research has been funded by, amongst others, the National Institute of Health, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychoanalytic Association, the International Psychoanalytic Association, the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Institute, and the Endowment for the Advancement of Psychotherapy. Dr. Ablon received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of California at Berkeley and completed his predoctoral and postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ablon trains parents, educators, and clinicians and consults to schools and treatment programs throughout the world in the Collaborative Problem Solving approach.

Contact Info

1st Edition

Treating Explosive Kids The Collaborative Problem-Solving Approach

Description

The first comprehensive presentation for clinicians of the groundbreaking approach popularized in Ross Greene's acclaimed parenting guide, The Explosive Child , this book provides a detailed framework for effective, individualized intervention with highly oppositional children and their families. Many vivid examples and Q&A sections show how to identify the specific cognitive factors that contribute to explosive and noncompliant behavior, remediate these factors, and teach children and their adult caregivers how to solve problems collaboratively. The book also describes challenges that may arise in implementing the model and provides clear and practical solutions. Two special chapters focus on intervention in schools and in therapeutic/restrictive facilities.

Table of Contents

Ross W. Greene, PhD, is founder and director of Lives in the Balance and the originator of the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions approach, as described in his books The Explosive Child and Lost at School . He is also adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech. In addition to providing outpatient care, he consults to schools, inpatient units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities. Dr. Greene's research focuses on the classification and treatment of explosive children; long-term outcomes in socially impaired children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); and the impact of teacher characteristics on school outcome for elementary school students with ADHD. He has written extensively on behavioral assessment and social functioning; school- and home-based interventions for children with disruptive behavior disorders; and student-teacher compatibility. His research has been funded by the Stanley Medical Research Institute, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Greene received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Virginia Tech after completing his predoctoral internship at Children's National Medical Center/George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, DC. J. Stuart Ablon, PhD, is the Director of Think:Kids in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he specializes in the treatment of explosive children and adolescents and their families. He is also Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He consults extensively to schools, inpatient units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities. Dr Ablon's research focuses on the process and outcome of psychosocial interventions, particularly the treatment of explosive children. He has authored numerous articles, chapters, and scientific papers on behavioral assessment and psychosocial interventions for children with disruptive behavior disorders. Dr. Ablon's research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Psychological Association, the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Institute, and the Endowment for the Advancement of Psychotherapy. Dr. Ablon received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of California at Berkeley and completed his pre- and postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Critics' Reviews

“Greene and Ablon have done it again. This book illustrates their clinical acumen, conceptual sophistication, and scientific rigor--all at the same time! This is an uncommonly useful book for students and for therapists at all levels of experience. The authors' collaborative problem-solving approach takes into consideration the delicate dance between poorly regulated children and their frustrated and sometimes poorly equipped parents. These children and their families require special interventions, and this innovative book goes a long way to helping us in our clinical practice, teaching, and research.”--Thomas H. Ollendick, PhD, Child Study Center and Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech Provocative, conceptually grounded, and clinically wise. The CPS approach looks at a range of common, vexing parent-child problems and applies sound individual and family strategies, innovatively framed in the context of children's deficits in executive functions, communication, and emotion regulation. Loaded with case examples, this is essential reading for all those who work with 'externalizing' children.--Stephen P. Hinshaw, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley This cutting-edge book provides a practical and easily understood guide for treating explosive children and adolescents. It presents an innovative, compassionate model that is very helpful in improving the quality of life for these kids and those who care for them. --Michael S. Jellinek, MD, Child Psychiatry Service, Massachusetts General Hospital; Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School Greene and Ablon's CPS approach is an excellent integration of theory, research, and clinical wisdom. The authors present a thoughtful clinical framework and specific procedures for interpreting and managing children's explosive, noncompliant behavior. This book belongs on the bookshelf of every clinician who works with these youngsters.--Howard Abikoff, PhD, Institute for Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity and Behavior Disorders, NYU Child Study Center - Ross Greene and J. Stuart Ablon...have elegantly translated neuropsychologists' perspective of how children organize their experiences, regulate their emotions and behaviors, and integrated it with systemic family therapy, empathy development, and communications analysis to present a refreshing treatment approach to disruptive behaviors in children and teens....Details a new systemic approach for children with behavioral issues, as well as articulates a significant challenge to interventions derived from learning theory (e.g. time-outs, token economies), which the authors feel are not sufficient explosive behaviors are the result of neurologically based skills deficits that should be remediated by parents in collaboration with their children, not by parents imposing their will on their children....Useful for clinicians at any stage in their training and level of expertise as a comprehensive introduction to a new treatment approach for a very challenging set of familiar clinical issues. --Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Book Reviews, 10/20/2005ƒƒ One of the greatest benefits of the book is its case examples. There are several 'scripts' in which its approach is illustrated in different situations—schools, family therapy, and treatment facilities. These examples provide the reader with excellent demonstrations of the model....The book is well written and easy to read for both professionals and parents. The book's points are emphasized and reemphasized so that there is little possibility for confusion. Treating Explosive Kids can most certainly be a useful resource for psychologists in schools, private practice, and residential facilities and for parents and teachers. --PsycCRITIQUES, 10/20/2005

About VitalSource eBooks

VitalSource is a leading provider of eBooks.

• Access your materials anywhere, at anytime.
• Customer preferences like text size, font type, page color and more.
• Take annotations in line as you read.

Multiple eBook Copies

This eBook is already in your shopping cart. If you would like to replace it with a different purchasing option please remove the current eBook option from your cart.

Book Preview

The country you have selected will result in the following:

• Product pricing will be adjusted to match the corresponding currency.
• The title Perception will be removed from your cart because it is not available in this region.

• Collaborative Problem Solving® »
• What Is Collaborative Problem Solving? »

What Is Collaborative Problem Solving?

Helping kids with challenging behavior requires understanding why they struggle in the first place. But what if everything we thought was true about challenging behavior was actually wrong? Our Collaborative Problem Solving ® approach recognizes what research has pointed to for years – that kids with challenging behavior are already trying hard. They don’t lack the  will  to behave well. They lack the  skills  to behave well.

Collaborative Problem Solving ® is different than most approaches to working with kids with behavioral challenges in that it has a guiding philosophy attached to it. And the philosophy is a simple one. Kids do well if they can. And what that means is if a kid could do well, they would do well. And if they're not doing well, let's figure out what's standing in their way so we can help. Unfortunately, most people tend to adhere more to the philosophy of kids do well if they want to, which means if a kid isn't doing well, it must be because they don't want to. Our job is to try to make them want to, to motivate them to do better. We use 50 years of research in the neurosciences to help us understand what's getting in a kid's way. Because what we've learned over the years is that kids who struggle with their behavior, they actually don't lack the will to behave well. What they lack are the skills to behave well. Skills like flexibility, and frustration tolerance, and problem solving.

In Collaborative Problem Solving, we think of it much in the way you might think of a learning disability, except instead of areas like reading and math and writing. This is in areas like flexibility, frustration, tolerance, problem-solving. These kids are delayed in the development of those skills. Now, a long time ago, we used to think kids with learning disabilities were simply "lazy" or "dumb." Thank goodness we've come to a very different place in understanding kids with learning disabilities. However, we haven't made as much progress when it comes to kids with behavioral challenges. We still assume that they aren't trying hard to behave well when the truth of the matter is they're trying harder than anybody else because it doesn't come naturally to them. We've yet to meet a child that prefers doing poorly to doing well.

We believe kids do well if they can. We teach adults a practical assessment process that helps identify the specific skills that these kids struggle with and the situations in which they happen. Then we provide adults with three basic options for handling any of those situations. We call those our three plans. We call it Plan A. When you try to impose your will to make the child do what you want them to do, we call it Plan B. When you do Collaborative Problem Solving, and we call it Plan C, when you decide strategically to drop your expectation for now or solve the problem the way the child wants it solved. So we teach adults that they really only have these three options when it comes to handling any problem with a kid. Which one they choose depends on what they're trying to accomplish. Not surprisingly, we spend most of our time teaching adults how to do Plan B, collaborate with kids to solve problems in mutually satisfactory ways, not just to solve the problem and reduce challenging behavior, but to actually practice and build the skills that these kids lack.

Plan B has three ingredients to it. It seems simple, but don't confuse simple with easy. Those three ingredients are first and foremost, trying to understand the kid's perspective. The kid's concern, the kid's point of view about the problem to be solved. And only once we understand the child's concern can we move to the second ingredient of Plan B, where we put the adult's concern on the table, not our adult solution, but the adult concern on the table. And only once we have two sets of concerns on the table, the child's concern and the adult's concern, do we move to the third and final ingredient of Plan B. And that's where you invite the child to brainstorm potential solutions to the problem, which the two of you are going to test out together, aiming for one that is mutually satisfactory, doable, and realistic. And we teach adults lots of guideposts along the way to help facilitate that process. And once again, the goal of Plan B, not just reducing challenging behavior and solving the problem, but also helping the child and the adult to practice a whole host of skills related to flexibility, frustration, tolerance, and problem-solving. So in summary, Collaborative Problem Solving provides a guiding philosophy and then a corresponding set of assessment tools, a planning process, and a robust intervention that builds relationship, reduces challenging behavior, and builds skill. But let's remember that it all starts with the underlying philosophy that kids do well if they can. And this is about skill, not will.

Related Content

Managing challenging behavior during traumatic times, collaborative problem solving, a talk with dr. stuart ablon, rethinking challenging kids: where there’s a skill there’s a way, privacy overview.

• Education & Teaching
• Schools & Teaching

Sorry, there was a problem.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

The School Discipline Fix: Changing Behavior Using the Collaborative Problem Solving Approach 1st Edition

A complete guide to a paradigm-shifting model of school discipline.  Disruptive students need problem-solving skills, not punishment.

Traditional school discipline is ineffective and often damaging, relying heavily on punishments and motivational procedures aimed at giving students the incentive to behave better. There is a better way.

Dr. Ablon and his co-author Dr. Pollastri have been working with schools throughout the world to refine the Collaborative Problem-Solving (CPS) approach, creating a step-by-step program for educators based on the recognition―from research in neuroscience―that challenging classroom behaviors are due to a deficit of  skill , not  will.  This book provides everything needed to implement the program, including reproducible assessment tools to pinpoint skill deficits in areas like frustration tolerance and flexibility that are at the root of students' challenging behaviors.

Whether you are a teacher, counselor, coach, or administrator, the CPS approach to school discipline will provide you with a new mindset, an assessment process, and an effective intervention plan for each of your challenging students. You will walk away with strategies that are immediately actionable with the students in your life.

• ISBN-10 0393712303
• ISBN-13 978-0393712308
• Edition 1st
• Publisher W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date August 21, 2018
• Language English
• Dimensions 7 x 0.6 x 10 inches
• Print length 224 pages
• See all details

Editorial Reviews

About the author, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (August 21, 2018)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393712303
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393712308
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.6 x 10 inches
• #248 in Education Administration (Books)

About the author

J. stuart ablon.

J. Stuart Ablon, Ph.D., is the Director of Think:Kids in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also Associate Professor and the Thomas G. Stemberg Endowed Chair in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ablon is author of the books Changeable: How Collaborative Problem Solving Changes Lives at Home, at School, and at Work; Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem Solving Approach; and The School Discipline Fix.

Dr. Ablon received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of California at Berkeley and completed his training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. A dynamic and engaging speaker, Dr. Ablon was ranked #5 on the list of the world’s top rated keynote speakers in the academic arena. Dr. Ablon trains parents, educators, and clinicians, and helps organizations throughout the world implement the Collaborative Problem Solving approach.

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 87% 6% 5% 2% 0% 87%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 87% 6% 5% 2% 0% 6%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 87% 6% 5% 2% 0% 5%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 87% 6% 5% 2% 0% 2%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 87% 6% 5% 2% 0% 0%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

• About Amazon
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell products on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon and COVID-19
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices