Think:Kids is a program in the Department of Psychiatry at the non-profit Massachusetts General Hospital that trains adults in a revolutionary new way of helping kids with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges.

The Mission

Think:Kids aims to dramatically improve society’s understanding and treatment of challenging kids. Think:Kids achieves these goals by disseminating and implementing an innovative, proven approach described in the book, Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem Solving Approach. The CPS model conceptualizes challenging behavior as the result of difficulty with crucial thinking skills; thus, unlike traditional models of discipline, the model eschews power, control, and motivational procedures and focuses instead on identifying and teaching challenging kids the skills they lack.

The Problem

There are over 12 million kids with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges in North America alone – many still being treated in ways that are inhumane and ineffective. A heartbreaking number of kids are losing their futures simply because their challenges are poorly understood.

The Solution

At Think:Kids we have a unique view of challenging kids: we don’t think they are attention-seeking, manipulative or unmotivated. Rather we understand that they lack crucial skills for solving problems, handling frustration and being flexible. And we understand that these skills can be taught. Our approach represents a novel, contemporary, practical, compassionate, and (as documented by published research) highly effective approach for understanding and helping these children and their caretakers. Think:Kids staff currently train thousands of parents, educators, and mental health professionals throughout the world each year in applying this model.