Treating Out-of-Control Behavior:

A critical look at the details of a specific out-of-control incident will provide the clinician with invaluable information for the development of effective intervention strategies. Using case studies, this program will focus on identifying the often-overlooked issues that underlie or prompt angry outbursts or other forms of out-of-control behavior in children or adolescents. Detailed debriefing techniques designed to uncover hidden “triggers” for out-of-control behavior will be discussed as well as a variety of creative intervention strategies. OBJECTIVES: Participants will learn to: Use a simple graphic construct of the brain to help patients understand the different brain functions related to emotions, cognition and the ability to conceptualize future consequences. How social history, genetics and certain neurological disorders damage a child’s ability to conceptualize future. How to determine the “behavior age” of a child/adolescent. How to communicate the goal and function of the debriefing process to children and families. How to structure an effective debriefing process. How to ask the uncommon questions, which reveal the precise emotional or cognitive underpinning of the out-of-control behavior. How to avoid questions and comments that will derail the debriefing process. How to utilize debriefing data to identify precise coping skills training needed to prompt successful behavior change. How to integrate the findings of the debriefing procedure into the treatment process.

"I'd Tell You If I Knew" -- Helping Clients Speak Up Versus Act Out

This program explains how and why children "act out" negative feelings. It enables teachers to prevent inappropriate or negative behavior by helping students identify and articulate feelings. I. Understanding Feelings.. A. What are feelings? 1. What feelings tell us. 2. What feelings are not. They just are. B. Unacknowledged or unexpressed feelings do not go away. Feelings get expressed one way or another. 1. Remember the onion. C. What do feelings dictate. 1. What do effective choices require. 2. What you can do to your feelings. II. Identifying Feelings. A. We are not always aware of all of our feelings. 1. Feeling awareness is not a constant. 2. Children and adolescents are frequently unaware of their feelings. B. Feelings can be complicated. 1. Process C. When feelings are not identified. 1. Feelings are .......bound. III. Communicating Feelings. A. Effective communications occurs in stages. 1. Telling "what happened" is only part of the communication process. 2. Understanding is necessary to effective problem solving. B. Active listening is a learned skill. 1. Acknowledgment and approval are not the same. 2. Acknowledgment of feelings may be all that is needed. "When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion." Dale Carnegie