This highly practical book presents a complete anger and aggression management training program for middle and high school students.

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This highly practical book presents a complete anger and aggression management training program for middle and high school students. The volume incorporates a newly revised version of the author's proven "Think First" manual, which includes step-by-step skills training guidelines and 20 reproducible handouts and forms. Also provided are a clear rationale for the program and thorough instructions for screening and assessing those students who could benefit most from participation. Showing how to integrate small-group cognitive-behavioral skills training into an effective schoolwide disciplinary framework, the book offers vital tools for promoting prosocial behavior and decreasing violence risks among all students. It is an essential resource for professionals who seek both a better understanding of adolescent aggression and nuts-and-bolts strategies for dealing with it.

"This book is full of useful material for professionals in middle and secondary learning environments. Included are research-supported sequential activities and ready-made forms that can be easily copied and used to support a well-documented, child-specific intervention. School psychologists, social workers, counselors, administrators, and teachers of at-risk students will find this a helpful tool in identifying and interrupting patterns that are leading toward increasing levels of aggression in today's youth."
-Patricia Kies, EdS, School Psychologist, Parker High School, Janesville, Wisconsin

"This is a practical and informative guide for mental health professionals and others concerned not only with reducing the occurrence of aggressive behaviors in schools, but also with encouraging the development of prosocial alternatives....I recommend this book as a useful text for graduate-level clinical training in school psychology, school social work, and education."
-Douglas C. Smith, PhD, Department of Counselor Education, University of Hawaii

"The Think First training modules are logically laid out and easy to follow, with a wealth of helpful hints for novice and experienced practitioners alike. One exceptional point is made that is worth the price of the book: intervention and teaching skills are inadequate without generalization in the real world. One must also practice, practice, practice. School psychologists, administrators, teachers, and those responsible for training these professionals should take note of this text and add it to their toolbox of interventions, as well as incorporating it into training programs. Overall, this is an excellent resource."
-Twylla Abrahamson, PhD, Family Residential Division, River Oak Center for Children, Sacramento, CA

"Outstanding....Mental health and student support services personnel will find the five-module treatment manual an excellent resource from which a school-based intervention system can be crafted. Think First would make an excellent text for intervention courses and seminars that focus on aggression and other types of externalizing behaviors."
-George M. Batsche, EdD, Graduate Programs in School Psychology and Institute for School Reform, University of South Florida

208 Pages Size: 7" x 10" paperback

1. The Problem and Directions for Change
2. The Context of Aggressive Student Behavior: Creating Effective, Whole-School Environmental Strategies
3. Rationale and Best Practices for Anger and Aggression Management Skills Training
4. Screening, Identification, and Assessment for Anger and Aggression Management Training
5. Getting Started with Anger and Aggression Management Skills Training
6. Introduction to the Treatment Manual
Module I. Introduction, Choices, and Consequences
Module II. Hassle Log and Anger Reducers
Module III. Anger Triggers and Attribution Retraining
Module IV. Self-Instruction and Consequential Thinking
Module V. Social Problem-Solving
Appendices:
A. Current Behavior Screening Form
B. Intervention Record Review
C. Adolescent Interview
D. Brief Problem Assessment Interview
E. Classroom Progress Monitoring Report
F. Multidimensional School Anger Inventory
G. Sample Parental Consent Letter/Carta de Consentimiento de Padres
H. Guidelines for Generalization Support Persons
I. Academic Self-Monitoring Form
J. Think First Training Outcomes
Handouts:
Think First Handout I.1. Behavior A-B-C's
Think First Handout II.1. Hassle Log
Think First Handout II.2. Behavior A-B-C's for an
Anger Cue
Think First Handout III.1. Common Thought Triggers
Think First Handout IV.1. Reminders
Think First Handout V.1. Stop And Think
Think First Handout V.2. Finding Alternative Solutions
Think First Handout V.3. Problem-Solving Work Sheet