Are you looking for a better way to prevent crises and de-escalate challenging situations?
When behavior escalates, the way adults respond can either intensify the situation or help calm it. Collaborative Problem Solving® provides an evidence-based framework for recognizing escalation early, responding with curiosity, and preventing many crises before they occur, reducing the need for restrictive interventions.
This on-demand course helps professionals build the skills to prevent and de-escalate challenging situations while maintaining safety, dignity, and strong relationships with young people. Participants learn to identify the underlying triggers of behavior, allowing them to address root causes, prevent escalation, and respond more effectively in the moment.
Is this Course for You?
This course is designed for adults who support young people experiencing behavioral challenges and periods of escalation, including:
- Residential and therapeutic program staff
- Social workers and mental health clinicians working with children and adolescents
- Direct care staff and youth workers in youth-serving organizations
- Educators and school staff (teachers, counselors, administrators, behavior specialists)
- Caregivers and anyone working with or supporting youth
The strategies taught in this course are practical, trauma-informed, and applicable across residential, clinical, and educational settings. The course aligns with the Council on Accreditation (COA) standards, focusing on effective collaboration with youth and their caregivers to develop preventative strategies and assess risks associated with restrictive interventions. Please contact ThinkKidsInfo@MGB.org if you are unsure if this course is for you.
What You'll Learn
After completing this course, participants will be able to:
- Explain how Collaborative Problem Solving provides a framework for prevention-focused crisis intervention.
- Tell the difference between the three options in the Collaborative Problem Solving approach for responding to challenging situations and how they pursue different goals.
- Apply the Assess—Decide—Act process to each zone in the Escalation Cycle (green, yellow, red).
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Use Collaborative Problem Solving to approach challenging situations with curiosity to foster positive, relational interactions and build a trusting relationship.
Course Format
This self-paced, on-demand course includes a series of short, pre-recorded modules designed for flexible learning. Throughout the course, you’ll engage with recorded examples that illustrate key concepts and real-world applications, helping you translate ideas into practice. There is a downloadable digital reference guide for use during and after the course, along with a quiz at the end to test your learning.
Earn CE Credit or Certificates of Completion
Think:Kids/MGH is an Accredited Provider of Continuing Education (CE) credit.
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Social workers taking this course may register to receive 2 General Credits.
- Think:Kids at Massachusetts General Hospital, provider #1960, is approved as an ACE provider 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.
- Licensed Mental Health Counselors taking this course may register to receive 2 NBCC credit hours.
- Think:Kids at Massachusetts General Hospital has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7844. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Think:Kids at Massachusetts General Hospital is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
- All other learners may register to receive a Certificate of Completion for a 2-hour on-demand course.
- You may submit your Certificate of Completion to your governing body to see if you may obtain credit.
Course Curriculum
Meet Your Instructors
You may contact Think:Kids or your instructors with any questions at ThinkKidsInfo@MGB.org.
Dr. J. Stuart Ablon
Founder and Director, Think:Kids
Stuart Ablon, Ph.D., is Founder and Director of Think:Kids in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. An award-winning psychologist, Dr. Ablon is Associate Professor and the Thomas G. Stemberg Endowed Chair in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is the author of three books, Changeable, hand-picked by Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Dan Pink, and Susan Cain for their Next Big Idea Club, The School Discipline Fix, and Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem Solving Approach.
Dr. Ablon received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of California at Berkeley and completed his training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. One of the world’s top-rated thought-leaders and keynote speakers, Dr. Ablon teaches educators, parents, clinicians, managers, and leaders a very different approach to understanding and addressing challenging behavior of all types and in all people. Dr. Ablon has helped hundreds of organizations throughout the world implement the Collaborative Problem Solving approach.
Margaret Johnson, LMSW
Certified Instructor and Consultant, Think:Kids
Margaret Johnson works with people across the entire Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) learning continuum. She hosts training coaching sessions, provides implementation consultation to organizations, and provides high-level instruction in our Certification Program. Margaret also oversees the organization’s efforts to address belonging within our services, day-to-day operations, and community relations. She works with the Think:Kids team to continually evaluate and improve how we train, coach, instruct, support, and interact with our community of learners and partners.
Margaret spent many years working directly with youth, families, and staff in Oregon’s foster care and residential treatment settings. Margaret is passionate about teaching CPS to programs that serve families and youth involved in the child welfare and justice systems. She loves teaching CPS directly to parents and initiated the first online CPS parent classes while working at OHSU.
Margaret holds a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor’s Degree in both Psychology and Creative Writing from San Francisco State University.
Additional Information
Course created: March 2026
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This course is for educational purposes only. Think:Kids does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any health-related questions you may have.
This course provides information that, when applied correctly and appropriately, can potentially reduce the need to engage youth in Restrictive Behavior Management Interventions (RBMI). It is not intended as a replacement for physical intervention training, nor is it a guarantee that RBMI will not remain necessary in some situations. Think:Kids assumes no liability for any bodily injury , loss, or damage caused by the misuse or incorrect application of the information provided in this course.
Please refer to the Mass General Brigham disclaimer for more information: https://www.massgeneral.org/notices/disclaimer
Mail only: 125 Nashua Street 7th Floor, Suite 7100, Boston, MA 02114 | Voicemail: +1-617-643-6030 | ThinkKidsInfo@MGB.org
www.ThinkKids.org