Nelson Mandela's adage, "I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends" captures the profoundly inclusive nature of restorative justice (RJ). The hallmark of RJ is intentionally bringing together people with seemingly diametrically opposed viewpoints--particularly people who have harmed with people who have been harmed--in a carefully…

Bullying often persists in spite of formal programs targeting this problem. Supportive school and classroom communities enlist brave peers in consoling, encouraging, and befriending victims, which removes the status that fuels bullies. For the past 18 years, this author has worked in multiple children's agencies and schools, studying bullying…

The Positive Behavior Support Team at Madison Metropolitan School District (Wisconsin) provides consultation and wrap-around services for students who exhibit significant physical or sexual aggression. Several members of the team received training in the Three Pillars of TraumaWise Care curriculum from Reclaiming Youth International. This article…

A high school student with a learning disability struggles under intense pressure to meet standards of a state's standardized testing. Fearing that his failure will cause teachers to be fired, he acts out in ways to be punished. This interview shows how valuable it is to drain off intense emotions and make sense of a situation following a…

Routine life stressors can trigger anger and violence with children who have poor emotional regulation. This article describes "Response Ability Pathways" (RAP) strategies that equip youth in managing these daily challenges. The strategies require establishing steps to gain the young persons trust and providing alternative methods to…

Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) is a therapeutic, verbal strategy for intervention with students in crisis. It explores a student's reactions to stressful events to gain insight into thinking, feelings, and behavior in order to strengthen resilience and self-esteem (Long, Wood, & Fecser, 2001). By exploring timelines of challenging…

School disengagement is linked to a lack of opportunities for students to fulfill their needs for independence and self-determination. Young people have little say about what, when, where, and how they will learn, the criteria used to assess their success, and the content of school and classroom rules. Traditional behavior management discourages…

In order to thrive, organizations must undergo significant change at various points in their development. Such is the case with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Emotional Disability Services in the beginning process of implementing Response Ability Pathways (RAP) with staff and students. The impetus for change originated from an…

This article features Community Service Foundation/Buxmont Academy (CSF Buxmont) school, in Trevose, Pennsylvania, which operates alternative schools using restorative practices. CSF Buxmont operates eight schools, 16 foster group homes, and probation and drug-and-alcohol supervision programs for youth, which are demonstration programs of the…

The traditional "stay silent, sit still, do nothing" school detention approach is a punitive and ineffective way to change behavior. It does little to create positive school climates. For children who have been traumatized through fear, isolation, and emotional abuse, poorly managed detention can add to that trauma. A restorative justice approach…

Over the last 20 years, the clinical teams at The ChildTrauma Academy have been adapting their clinical practice to be better informed by the core principles of neurodevelopment and neuroscience. The hope is that by better understanding how the brain changes they will better understand the effects of maltreatment on the child and, thereby,…

The Developmental Audit[R] is a comprehensive means of assessment and treatment planning that identifies the coping strategies underlying a youth's maladaptive and self-defeating behavior. This is a strength-based assessment that engages youth in conflict in the process of generating solutions rather than focusing on deficits. This process…

To heal the hurt child, one begins not as a clinician but as a person trying to witness how the child experiences trauma. This requires more than just talking since the child's terrifying memories are stored in the brain's senses and visual imagery, not in rational thoughts and words. The goal is to change these frightening sensory experiences…