Dr. Ross Greene is a clinical psychologist focused on the unsolved problems of children and how they affect behavior, like not being able to focus on homework or not listening well. The model he has created is called Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS).
The model suggests behaviors are the signals of unsolved problems, and parents and teachers must work with the child to solve those problems, which will then fix the bad behavior.
A common way to modify behavior is through rewards and punishments, but Dr. Greene says that can lead to more problems.
"Even if you get one behavior to go away, if the problem is still there, another one is going to pop up," he said.
The Roaring Fork School District recently invited Dr. Greene to the Valley to speak about the CPS model.
Dr. Greene argues that by simply changing a child's behavior, they are not receiving the help that they need.
"They become very disenfranchised, very alienated and very marginalized,” he said. “Because all of these problems that they are having difficulty with still aren’t solved.”