Collaborative Problem Solving: Empowering Families & Enhancing Child-Serving Systems
SUMMARY – The Meadows Institute, in partnership with Think:Kids, is expanding the impact of Collaborative Problem Solving® across Texas and offering no-cost trainings to child and family-serving professionals. This evidence-based, trauma-informed approach helps children build skills in problem-solving, flexibility, and frustration tolerance, while also strengthening relationships and reducing challenging behaviors. Registration is live for our upcoming training opportunity.
Project Details
What is Collaborative Problem Solving?
Developed at Massachusetts General Hospital, which is home to one of the nation’s leading Departments of Psychiatry, the Collaborative Problem Solving approach is an evidence-based, trauma-informed intervention that helps adults more effectively understand and respond to children’s challenging behaviors. Grounded in research showing that children with challenging behavior often lack the skill, not the will, to behave well, this approach teaches adults and children to build skills in problem-solving, flexibility, and frustration tolerance.
Collaborative Problem Solving has shown significant improvement in children’s executive functioning skills and a 73% reduction in oppositional behavior in school. At the same time, parents report improvement in their interactions with their children and a significant reduction in stress. The approach has been successfully implemented across a wide range of child-serving systems and diverse populations, reducing challenging behaviors, parent stress, and punitive responses while strengthening relationships and long-term outcomes for children and families.
Collaborative Problem Solving can be incorporated into schools, community-based organizations, child welfare organizations, community behavioral health clinics, inpatient and residential behavioral health settings, juvenile justice programs, family preservation and support programming, crisis response systems and many other settings where children and families are being supported.
As part of this partnership, professionals in Texas who serve children and families will gain access to free training in the Collaborative Problem Solving approach. This includes both mental health clinicians and non-clinical staff, such as qualified mental health professionals, educators and school-based staff, case managers, family support specialists, and other front-line professionals who play a key role in helping children and families thrive.
Collaborative Problem Solving has shown significant improvement in children’s executive functioning skills and 73% reduction in oppositional behavior in school; parents report improvement in parent/child interaction; and significant reduction in parent stress.”
Upcoming Training Opportunities
Essential Foundation in Collaborative Problem Solving
June 3-5, 2026
10:00am – 3:15pm CT
Free, Virtual Training
Participants will receive 12 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) upon completion.
For questions, contact: Amy Felker at afelker@mmhpi.org
The Essential Foundation in Collaborative Problem Solving course covers all aspects of the Collaborative Problem Solving approach. Through lectures, role-play, video examples, case studies, and breakout groups, participants learn how to identify what’s really causing unmet expectation and challenging behavior and how to address those causes using a relational, replicable, and evidence-based process. See the detailed agenda for more information, here.
Learning Objectives
After completing this course, learners will be able to:
- Describe why a new approach is needed for working with individuals with Undesired Behaviors.
- Explain that a person’s behavior is influenced by their Thinking Skills rather than their motivation to
behave well. - Understand that implicit bias may impact judgment about a person’s behavior.
- Differentiate between Problems to Be Solved and Undesired Behaviors when doing a Collaborative Problem Solving Assessment.
- Identify how responses to situations are consistent with Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C.
- Use Collaborative Problem Solving to build skills and address problems, not just Undesired Behaviors.
- Solve problems collaboratively with others.
Meet Your Instructors
Margaret Johnson has been a Certified Trainer and Consultant at Think: Kids for 10 years and is currently the Head of Belonging in Action Initiative. Margaret also serves as the Youth Program Director at Gala Pride & Diversity Center in San Luis Obispo, CA. Margaret holds a B.A. from San Francisco State University and an MSW from the University of Southern California. With over 20 years of experience, Margaret Johnson has supported youth and families involved in the child welfare system through direct care, staff supervision, and implementation of the CPS model.
Elizabeth Buchholz has been a Certified Trainer and Consultant at Think: Kids for three years. Elizabeth holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Philosophy and a master’s degree in Nonprofit Studies, with a concentration in Implementation Science and Trauma Informed Care, from the University of Richmond. Elizabeth’s experience includes working directly with youth and families using the CPS model in residential treatment, private day schools, and treatment of foster care. Elizabeth continues to provide training, coaching, implementation consultation, and certification learning for organizations.
Fees
This training is offered free of charge for all learners, thanks to a grant from The Goodness Web.
Who Should Attend?
This beginner-level course is designed for social workers, educators, residential program staff, and mental health clinicians. Reach out to ThinkKidsInfo@mgh.harvard.edu if you are unsure if this course is for you.
Earn CE/PDP Credits
To earn CE, PDP, or Certificates of Attendance, attendees must attend each session in full, complete a course evaluation, and complete an attestation of attendance. Partial credits will not be given in cases of missed hours or incomplete evaluations or attestations. Certificates of completion will be emailed within 30 days to attendees who meet these requirements. If you do not receive your certificate or if you have any questions, please contact us at ThinkKidsInfo@mgh.harvard.edu.
Social Workers
Think:Kids at Massachusetts General Hospital, provider #1960 is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 8/28/2025 – 8/28/2028. Social workers completing this course receive 12 General continuing education credits.
Educators, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Other
A certificate of attendance will be provided for 12 units, which can be submitted to the corresponding professional organization for consideration.
Policies & Requirements
- Grievances and Accommodations Policy View Here
- Confidentiality of Participant Information Policy View Here
- Attendance and Earning CE/PDP Policy View Here
- System Requirements: Users must join the training on their own devices, have access to a strong internet signal, use a web camera and microphone, and have downloaded Zoom to their devices. Review the Zoom system requirements on their website View Here
Contact Us
Please contact us at thinkkidsinfo@mgb.org or +1-617-643-6030 with any questions or concerns. 125 Nashua Street 7th Floor, Suite 7100, Boston, MA 02114. www.ThinkKids.org.
Past Trainings
Introduction to Collaborative Problem Solving
November 13, 2025
This course introduced the basic principles of Collaborative Problem Solving, an innovative, trauma-informed, and evidence-based approach to understanding and helping kids and adults with behavioral challenges. Participants learned a more empathic and accurate understanding of what causes unmet expectations and challenging behavior and were exposed to an overview of the three key components of the approach. This course laid the foundation for attending Essential Foundation in Collaborative Problem Solving (Level 1).
The full Introduction to Collaborative Problem Solving Training can be viewed below.
Essential Foundation in Collaborative Problem Solving
March 3-5, 2026
The Essential Foundation in Collaborative Problem Solving course covered all aspects of the Collaborative Problem Solving approach. Through lectures, role-play, video examples, case studies, and breakout groups, participants learned how to identify what’s really causing unmet expectation and challenging behavior and how to address those causes using a relational, replicable, and evidence-based process.
December 9 -11, 2025
The Essential Foundation in Collaborative Problem Solving (level 1) course covered all aspects of the Collaborative Problem Solving approach. Through lectures, role-play, video examples, case studies, and breakout groups, participants learned how to identify what’s really causing unmet expectations and challenging behavior and how to address those causes using a relational and replicable process.
July 22-24, 2025
The Essential Foundation in Collaborative Problem Solving (level 1) course covered all aspects of the Collaborative Problem Solving approach. Through lectures, role-play, video examples, case studies, and breakout groups, participants learned how to identify what’s really causing unmet expectations and challenging behavior and how to address those causes using a relational and replicable process.
February 27, 28, & 29, 2024
This training introduceds the basic principles of Collaborative Problem Solving, an innovative, trauma informed, and evidence based approach to understanding and helping kids with challenging behavior. Participants learned a more empathic and accurate understanding of what causes challenging behavior and were exposed to an overview of the three key components of the Collaborative Problem Solving® approach.
September 27 & 29, 2023
This training introduced the basic principles of Collaborative Problem Solving, an innovative, trauma informed, and evidence based approach to understanding and helping kids with challenging behavior. Participants learned a more empathic and accurate understanding of what causes challenging behavior and were exposed to an overview of the three key components of the Collaborative Problem Solving® approach.