The present article comments on the case conference presented in this issue, namely, Himle and Franklin's (Himle & Franklin, 2009) exposure and response prevention (ERP); Chosak and colleagues' (Chosak, Marques, Fama, Renaud, & Wilhelm, 2009) cognitive therapy (CT); and (Twohig, 2009) Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Two questions are…

Despite widespread treatment success in clinical settings, anxiety disorders are rarely targeted for intervention in students with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) who exhibit them. This study examined the effects of a school-based anxiety intervention on the performance of 3 students attending school in a self-contained EBD setting. Using…

Teachers of students exhibiting behavioral deficits and excesses should focus on direct teaching of acceptable behavior, but this often does not occur because of teachers' feeling more comfortable teaching academic skills, paucity of curriculum materials, and such trends as minimum competency testing. Behavioral and cognitive approaches to…

Evaluated alternative treatments for children (N=112) referred for severe antisocial behavior. Assigned children to one of three treatments: (1) problem-solving skills training (PSST); (2) PSST with in vivo practice (PSST-P); or (3) client-centered relationship therapy (RT). Found increases in prosocial behavior in PSST and PSST-P children while…

The publication presents five articles dealing with research and methodology for teachers of behaviorally disordered children. In the first paper, R. Gable et al. describe "A Classroom-based Curriculum Validation Process for Teaching the Behaviorally Disordered," which focuses on static and dynamic evaluation of curricular materials. E. Anderson…

I review the Common Factors Model, the Empirically Validated Therapy Model, and the Recovery Model of therapeutic change and effectiveness. In general, psychotherapy appears to be effective and common factors account for more of the variance than do specific techniques. However, in some areas, particularly in the treatment of anxiety disorders,…

Twenty-two middle school students with emotional/behavioral disorders placed in an alternative school were exposed to a cognitive-behavioral intervention which decreased the inappropriate external responses to anger and increased anger control as measured by student self-reports and teacher behavioral checklists. No effect was found for internal…

This article attempts to present a multidimensional perspective of functional behavioral analysis that will lead to psychoeducational interventions in which students with emotional/behavioral disorders are taught to think clearly, solve problems, and self-regulate the intensity of their emotions. (Contains references.) (Author/DB)

Education professionals consistently rank disruptive/aggressive student behavior as persistent and troubling, reporting various types of maladaptive behaviors ranging from talking out in class to assault. Researchers suggest that childhood aggression accounts for a high proportion of the referrals to special education for emotional and behavioral…

This paper reviews the literature on several popular behavior change strategies that have been implemented in classrooms or other educational settings with students with severe emotional disturbances. Each strategy is first described and then data on its effectiveness are reviewed. The strategies reviewed are: (1) timeout; (2) self-evaluation; (3)…

This digest describes how teachers can use cognitive-behavioral interventions (CBI) to remediate behavioral deficits and excesses by providing students with the tools necessary to control their own behavior. CBIs involve teaching the use of inner speech ("self-talk" )to modify underlying cognitions that affect overt behavior. CBI…

This article explains Family of Origin Education, a cognitive approach to helping students change maladaptive behaviors through understanding the historical and environmental contexts of such behaviors. Three phases of the approach, including staff preparation, student training (an eight-step process), and application to nonadaptive behavior, are…

This practicum was designed to improve parents' skills in managing the behavior of their elementary/middle school behaviorally disordered children in the home setting. The goals were: (1) to train parents to act assertively and communicate in a more positive manner with their children; (2) to teach parents the techniques of basic behavior…

This book examines intervention with children having emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD), through the use of many case studies, activities, and examples. The text is organized in a developmental manner, with behavioral interventions recommended for lower grades and cognitive-behavioral approaches recommended for older students. The first unit…