The violent behavior exhibited by today’s boys and girls is a full blown crisis. Traditional methods of rewards and punishments have failed. But a proven new method with surprising results may be the answer we need for changing bad behavior in our kids, and even society as a whole.

J. Stuart Ablon is a professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School who offers an extremely effective tool for managing behavior in his new book, CHANGEABLE. Years of research and working in psychiatric hospitals made Ablon realize that people don’t act badly because they want to – it is because they don’t have the skills to do otherwise in an emotionally charged situation. In other words, instead of blame and punishment, what if changing problem behavior is a matter building someone’s ability to go beyond what they know? Using a method of Collaborative Problem Solving, or CPS, Ablon has been able to teach people how to get what they want without acting out. Even more, this method works across the board in schools, offices, and communities.