Book Review: Greene, R. W., & Ablon, J. S. (2006). Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem-Solving Approach. New York: Guilford Press. xi, 244 pp. (Hardcover)

• DOI: 10.1177/0734016809332179
• Date: 01 June 2009
• Published date: 01 June 2009
• Subject Matter: Articles

290 Criminal Justice Review

with many of the negatives of nonviolent media (e.g., effects of advertising, an overconcern

with body image, the development of eating disorders). His case is compelling by using

current research to make his point.

From reading this book one comes away with a better understanding and appreciation of

the complexity of the issues surrounding violence among children and adolescents and the

impact of media. Part of that complexity is the realization that the media does not exist in

a vacuum; other social institutions play a significant role in the ongoing development of

young people. Some might suggest that the media is only a mirror that sharply focuses the

interplay of society’s institutions, and the reflection is often mistakenly seen as the source

of the problem.

Ottis Murray

University of North Carolina at Pembroke

Greene, R. W., & Ablon, J. S. (2006). Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem-

Solving Approach. New York: Guilford Press. xi, 244 pp. (Hardcover)

DOI: 10.1177/0734016809332179

The authors have the background to help families and institutions with youngsters who

engage in explosive behaviors. Ross Greene and J. Stuart Ablon are Director and Associative

Director of the Collaborative Problem Solving Institute, respectively, in the Department of

Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, codirectors of the Center for Collaborative

Problem Solving, and Associate and Assistant Professors of Psychiatry, respectively, at

Harvard Medical School. They consult extensively and engage in research.

They propose a specific analysis and treatment that sounds very promising; however,

they do not consider the limitations of the method or the context under which it is most

helpful. To them, it is the only method to be used. Plan B, or Collaborative Problem Solving

(CPS), assumes that the child’s difficulties always are due to a deficit in the following cog-

nitive skill areas: executive, language-processing, emotional regulation, cognitive flexi-

bility, and/or social. The intent is to look for triggers for explosive behaviors so that the

explosive episodes become highly predictable. For example, if demands placed on a child

lead to explosive behavior, then the demands are triggers. The next step is to deal with the

triggers by having both the adult who made the demand and the child indicate what their

concerns are. The caregiver indicates the concern that led to the demand, and the child

indicates the concern that led to the explosive behavior. Then the two work together to find

a solution that is “feasible, doable, and mutually satisfactory.” The explosive behavior is

assumed to be caused by incompatibility, and the goal of treatment is to improve compat-

ibility. Thus the “patient” is not an individual but the people involved.

There are two other strategies, but only Plan B addresses the concerns of both the adult

and youth. Plan A addresses only the adult’s concern by having the adult indicate what the

child is expected to do. Due to this one-sidedness, it is inappropriate and not to be used.

Plan C involves dropping or reducing expectations to decrease explosive episodes. It