Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS)

Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS) is an innovative approach to understanding and addressing the challenging behaviors of children and adolescents.

CPS emphasizes that challenging behaviors occur when the demands and expectations of the environment exceed a child's current capacity to respond adaptively. This perspective shifts the focus from trying to control behavior through rewards and punishments to identifying and solving the underlying problems contributing to the behavior.
The CPS model encourages adults to collaborate with children in a compassionate and empathetic manner to identify unmet needs and lagging skills, and then to work together to develop practical, mutually satisfactory solutions. This process not only helps in resolving immediate issues but also builds important skills such as problem-solving, flexibility, and frustration tolerance. CPS is grounded in the belief that children do well if they can, and if they aren't, adults need to help them develop the skills to do better, rather than punishing them for failing to meet expectations they are currently unable to reach.

At Psychology Centre Newcastle, Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS) is seamlessly integrated into therapy practices, providing a compassionate framework through which therapists and families work together to understand and solve the complex challenges faced by children and adolescents, fostering a supportive environment that promotes lasting behavioral change and strengthens family relationships.