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Psychologists can help.
Psychologists provide a number of services-both direct and indirect-to children, youth, and families in schools at all levels, from nursery school through college. Many focus on improving the effectiveness of teaching and student learning, frequently by studying motivation and cognitive processes in the classroom.
School psychologists also provide counseling and crisis intervention services. They help students with learning or behavior problems, learning disabilities, and cognitive deficits. They work with students in schools to prevent violence and other disruptive behaviors. They also serve on interdisciplinary teams that develop individual educational plans for students with special needs. Psychologists work within specialty areas of learning, too, such as the arts and sports.
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Why psychology?
Why people do the things they do is an age-old question. However, psychology--the science concerned with behavior, both humans and animals--is only about 125 years old. Despite its youth, it is a broad discipline, essentially spanning subject matter from biology to sociology. Biology studies the structures and functions of living organisms. Sociology examines how groups function in society. Psychologists study two critical relationships: one between brain function and behavior, and one between the environment and behavior. As scientists, psychologists follow scientific methods, using careful observation, experimentation, and analysis. But psychologists also need to be creative in the way they apply scientific findings.
Psychologists are frequently innovators, evolving new approaches from established knowledge to meet changing needs of people and societies. They develop theories and test them through their research. As this research yields new information, these findings become part of the body of knowledge that practitioners call on in their work with clients and patients. Psychology is a tremendously varied field. Psychologists conduct both basic and applied research, serve as consultants to communities and organizations, diagnose and treat people, and teach future psychologists and other types of students. They test intelligence and personality. They assess behavioral and mental function and well-being, stepping in to help where appropriate. They study how human beings relate to each other and also to machines, and they work to improve these relationships.
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Psychologists traditionally study both normal and abnormal functioning, and also treat patients with mental and emotional problems. Today, they are increasingly concentrating on behaviors that affect the mental and emotional health and mental processes of healthy human beings. For example, they work with business executives, performers, and athletes to combat stress and improve performance. They advise lawyers on jury selection and collaborate with educators on school reform. They show up immediately following a disaster such as a plane crash or bombing, to help victims and bystanders recover from the trauma, or shock, of the event.
Unlike traditional behavioral management, which views the individual as the problem and seeks to "fix" him or her by quickly eliminating the challenging behavior, positive behavioral support (PBS) and functional analysis (FA) view systems, settings, and lack of skill as parts of the "problem" and work to change those. As such, these approaches are characterized as long-term strategies to reduce inappropriate behavior, teach more appropriate behavior, and provide contextual supports necessary for successful outcomes.
PBS and FA can help practitioners and parents understand why the challenging behavior occurs--its function or purpose for the individual. In addition to helping practitioners and families understand the individual with the challenging behavior, PBS and FA also help them understand the physical and social contexts of the behavior. Moreover, PBS and FA provide a framework for helping the child to change challenging behaviors.
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