Teaching Adolescents to Think and Act Responsibly: The Equip Approach

Holding students accountable for their actions and inspiring them with greater expectations is to respect them, to believe in them as people with positive potential.

The EQUIP approach helps facilitate mature and accurate cognitive habits and behavioral skills in at-risk or potentially at-risk adolescents in the school setting. The curriculum addresses the three D s common in these adolescents developmental delays in moral judgment, self-serving cognitive distortions, and social skills deficiencies.

Using evidence-based cognitive-behavioral and psychoeducational principles, the curriculum equips students with the knowledge and skills to interact positively with others and make good decisions every day and throughout life. EQUIP consists of 30 sessions ten each of anger management, social skills, and social decision making. Each session includes facilitator notes, objectives, and activities such as role-plays, worksheets, and analysis of realistic problem scenarios. Sessions focus on the following specific goals: Fostering a positive social culture by challenging the mentality that promotes physical aggression and other antisocial behaviors; Providing an array of opportunities for students to take the perspectives of others; Helping students identify and correct their cognitive distortions, or thinking errors. All worksheets and handouts, as well as facilitator review and self- evaluation forms, are provided in reproducible format on the CD that accompanies this book.