PEI is hosting a Teaching Pro-Social Skills training today and tomorrow. Teaching Pro-Social Skills (TPS) is a comprehensive psycho educational skills program designed for aggressive children and youth at risk of or experiencing juvenile justice involvement. Based on the Aggression Replacement Training, TPS and its component procedures are (1) skill streaming – which teaches a curriculum of pro-social, interpersonal skills, (i.e., what to do instead of aggression), (2) anger control training – to teach youth what not to do if provoked, and (3) moral reasoning training – to promote values that respect the rights of others and help youth want to use the interpersonal and anger management skills they are taught. Aggression Replacement Training was first employed and evaluated in schools and delinquency centers in 1978. Since that time, an extended series of studies has demonstrated its skill learning, anger control and recidivism reducing potency. The U.S. Department of Education’s Expert Panel on Safe, Disciplined and Drug Free Schools has recognized Aggression Replacement Training as a promising program. The U.S. Department of Justice, the American Correctional Association, and the Home Office, United Kingdom have also designated it as a model program.
BHRS is providing training and support to our community partners to implement TPS in their communities. These community partners are already working with youth in groups or individually, and have accepted BHRS’s offer to train and support them in the implementation of TPS through their exisiting efforts. Through this projsct, BHRS expects to increase the capacity of existing community programs to meet the emotional health and wellness needs of their youth.
For more information about the TPS programs and future training opportunities in Stanislaus County, contact Jeff Sabean, MFT, at (209) 541-255.
