The Collaborative Problem Solving approach: outcomes across settings

Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2013 Jul-Aug;21(4):188-99. doi: 10.1097/HRP.0b013e3182961017.

Abstract

In the last decade, Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) has become a popular approach to managing the challenging behaviors of children and adolescents, and has established a growing evidence base for reducing oppositional behavior and related outcomes. In contrast with standard behavioral methods that provide incentives for meeting adult expectations, CPS focuses on identifying and treating lagging cognitive skills that interfere with children's ability to meet these expectations. Since the majority of CPS outcomes have been evaluated in clinical and educational settings as part of internal quality-improvement efforts, only a small proportion of these findings has been published in peer-reviewed academic journals. Here, we describe the CPS approach and provide a summary of all known published and unpublished findings related to its implementation in outpatient, inpatient, residential, juvenile justice, and educational settings. Finally, we provide specific recommendations for future research on the model.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / diagnosis
  • Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / psychology
  • Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / therapy*
  • Behavior Therapy / methods*
  • Child
  • Child Behavior Disorders / diagnosis
  • Child Behavior Disorders / psychology
  • Child Behavior Disorders / therapy*
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / methods*
  • Cooperative Behavior*
  • Education, Special
  • Hospitalization
  • Humans
  • Internal-External Control
  • Juvenile Delinquency / psychology
  • Problem Solving*
  • Professional-Patient Relations