Insights

By Elizabeth Buchholz, MNS

Supporting Students with Complex Needs

Therapeutic classrooms and schools provide a vital source of support for some of the most vulnerable students in our population. They also face a unique set of challenges that make providing that support extremely difficult.

Therapeutic classrooms and schools are specifically designed, often within larger schools and school systems, to support students with behavioral, emotional, and psychological needs that prohibit them from being successful in traditional classrooms. Educators and support staff in these environments often find themselves navigating the tough balance of pursuing academic progress and managing the behavioral and mental health needs of groups of students who are all struggling. At times, the behaviors are severe and could be dangerous for the students themselves or others. There is also an additional burden of data collection on the staff in therapeutic environments, as the data is required for IEPs and behavioral support plans that are mandated by laws, policies, and procedures.

Despite the challenges and unique contexts of therapeutic classrooms and schools, the educators and support staff in these programs are typically deeply committed to academic success and social skill development to prepare the students for the most successful future possible. Collaborative Problem Solving^® (CPS) provides a philosophical framework and set of interventions that perfectly align with the values, goals, and realities of therapeutic educational environments.

The Collaborative Problem Solving Approach: Skill, Not Will

Collaborative Problem Solving is an approach to working with young people that is built upon the philosophy that kids do well if they can, and when they are struggling, it is a matter of skill, not will. CPS suggests that when undesired behaviors happen, young people are doing the best that they can with the skills they have in the moments in which those skills are required. They are not choosing to behave in undesired ways. Based upon that belief, rather than trying to motivate students to behave better, the goal is to build skills so that students can manage situations in more adaptive ways. CPS offers specific interventions that pursue goals related to building skills, preserving and strengthening relationships, reducing undesired behaviors, solving problems, and pursuing expectations. The interventions align perfectly with the goals of these therapeutic environments.

A Real-World Example of Collaborative Problem Solving in Action

CPS was used in working with a 12-year-old student in a therapeutic school. The student was regularly leaving the classroom without permission, pulling significant resources from the school in terms of staffing and time. A staff member had to watch them at all times while they were in the hallways due to some destructive and distracting behaviors that were impacting other classrooms, students, and educators. When the staff started using CPS with the student, they identified that many of the challenges occurred during reading time, specifically when there were passages with multiple-choice questions.

When the staff shifted the focus of their intervention away from the behaviors the student displayed, leaving the classroom, to the trigger of reading time, it was discovered that the student was having a really hard time managing their feelings of frustration when they had to read a passage multiple times to retain the information long enough to answer the questions. Often, after answering one question, the student had to go back and reread the passage to answer the next question. They were struggling with working memory and emotion regulation skills. When the staff identified these concerns and encouraged the student to identify some solutions with the staff’s support, not only did the behavior decrease significantly, but academic progress and work output increased and their relationship with the student improved as well.

CPS focuses on building thinking skills related to communication, flexibility, social thinking, attention and working memory, and emotion regulation rather than focusing on reducing, eliminating, or changing behavior. That shift in focus allows staff to get to the root issues and accomplish goals in a mutually satisfactory manner, together with students.

Benefits of Using Collaborative Problem Solving in Therapeutic Classrooms and Schools

1. Trauma-Informed and Neuroscience-Based
   CPS is a trauma-informed, evidence-based approach grounded in neuroscience. CPS reduces the use of power and control to modify behavior and creates a collaborative environment where students feel safe to share and work to solve problems. CPS elevates the student’s voice and gives them appropriate ways to express control over situations that are challenging for them. CPS also honors the way that the brain processes information and uses neuroscience-backed methods to build skills.
2. Builds Emotional Safety and Trust
   CPS focuses on creating emotional safety and trust between adults and students, which is particularly helpful for those students who have experienced trauma. Often, students who have experienced trauma have been harmed by those who were supposed to care for them, creating challenges for others who are trying to support students. By focusing on the relationships and empathy between students and the adults supporting them, CPS reduces the power differentials that can trigger undesired behavior.
3. Prepares Students for Life Beyond the Classroom
   CPS prepares students for life beyond the classroom by focusing on skill-building rather than just behavior management. Just because a student is not exhibiting undesired behavior does not mean that they can solve complex problems and communicate their needs to others. CPS builds the skills necessary to be able to navigate life’s challenges through understanding others’ points of view and coming up with solutions to problems that address everyone’s concerns.
4. Creates a Consistent, Adaptable, Team-Wide Framework
   CPS also provides a consistent and flexible framework that anyone on the team can use. A common language and predictable process for working with youth can increase collaboration amongst the team and reduce burnout of those implementing the interventions. CPS is adaptable based upon student needs and doesn’t require staff to learn different interventions for each student. Other interventions can also fit within the CPS framework and integrate well to create a cohesive approach. This can again reduce burnout and fatigue and help staff stay more regulated when working with youth with significant challenges. Staff do not have to choose between addressing academic supports and providing behavioral supports to make progress with students. Through CPS, they can make progress on both!

An Ideal Choice for Therapeutic Classrooms

Collaborative Problem Solving is not just a good choice for those working in therapeutic classrooms and schools; it is an ideal choice for addressing the unique challenges posed by supporting groups of students in the same location with high needs. By focusing on skill building, relationships, and psychological safety, all students and staff can thrive!