Coping Power Program

1. Introduction

Version followed: the full two-year Coping Power Program as published in the Oxford University Press "Programs That Work" facilitator guides (Lochman, Wells & Lenhart, 2008, Child Group Program; Wells, Lochman & Lenhart, 2008, Parent Group Program): 34 child group sessions plus periodic individual sessions, and 16 parent group sessions plus individual contacts and home visits, for aggressive or disruptive children in about grades 4–6 (ages roughly 8–12; CEBC lists 8–14). Sources include the Oxford Academic chapter pages of the Child Group Facilitator Guide for 12 of the 34 sessions (sessions 1, 3, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 25, 27, 32 and 34). Their session titles and abstract openings confirm the 34-session count and the order: goal setting, then anger coping with self-statements, perspective taking, social problem solving (PICC), applications to teachers and peers, peer pressure, and review and termination. The full session text is not drawn on, so step detail remains largely synthesis; the other 22 child session titles, all parent session numbers and the exact Year 1/Year 2 split are [uncertain]. Bookseller listings show a newer printing or edition of the Child Group Facilitator Guide (ISBN 9780197816608); its content is [uncertain]. Where the abbreviated version (24 child + 10 parent sessions) or the Internet-enhanced version (12 child + 7 parent sessions) differs, this is noted. [source: Oxford Academic chapter pages, Coping Power: Child Group Program: Facilitator Guide; CEBC; WWC 2011; Blueprints; Lochman et al. 2018 Blueprints presentation]

Coping Power is a manualised cognitive-behavioural group programme with an integrated child component and parent component, run in schools or clinics. It grew out of Lochman's earlier Anger Coping Program by adding goal setting, study and organisational skills, peer-pressure and peer-group content, and a parent component. [source: WWC 2011; CEBC]

Core idea of change (the developers' contextual social-cognitive model): aggressive children process social information in distorted ways (they over-read hostile intent, generate few non-aggressive solutions and expect aggression to work), have poor arousal and self-regulation, and live in families where discipline is inconsistent and parental involvement is low. Change comes from (a) teaching the child to notice anger arousal early, calm down, re-appraise others' intentions and solve problems step by step, (b) practising these skills under graded provocation and in real life through goals and individual sessions, and (c) training parents in consistent, warm, involved parenting that prompts and rewards the same skills at home. The programme targets four predictors of later substance use and delinquency: low social competence, poor self-regulation, poor school bonding and poor caregiver involvement. It is often timed around the transition to middle school. [source: Blueprints; CEBC; Foundations guidebook]

2. Framework

Format at a glance

Child component: 34 group sessions (Blueprints: 22 in the first school year, usually 5th grade, and 12 in the second, usually 6th grade), over about 15–18 months; it can be compressed into one school year. Sessions are usually weekly, 40–60 minutes (school period), groups of 4–6 children (CEBC) or 5–8 (Blueprints, Foundations), with 1–2 co-leaders (Blueprints: a programme specialist plus the school counsellor). [source: CEBC; WWC 2011; Blueprints] [uncertain: group size differs by source; NGC gives 33 child sessions]
Individual child sessions: brief, regular one-to-one contacts (about 30 minutes, roughly every two months in the trial version; in the child-only study about 1.4 per month) to generalise skills, tailor goals and problem solving, and build the bond with the leaders. [source: Blueprints; WWC 2011; Lochman et al. 2018 presentation]
Parent component: 16 group sessions (11 in year one, 5 in year two), about 90 minutes each, run in parallel with the child groups, plus individual contacts (about 6–7 over 16 months) and periodic home visits. [source: Blueprints; WWC 2011]
Materials: child and parent facilitator guides and client workbooks with worksheets and homework; a prize box; puppets; dominoes; playing cards; video or audio recording equipment if possible. [source: CEBC; Blueprints]
Facilitators: master's or doctoral level clinicians (psychology, counselling, social work); school counsellors are common facilitators; unlicensed facilitators are supervised. [source: CEBC; Blueprints]

The manual numbers 34 child sessions, ending with session 34, Review and termination, which confirms the 34-session count over NGC's 33. [source: Oxford Academic chapter page, session 34]

Phases

The manual is a fixed sequence of 34 numbered child sessions, not a set of named phases; the phase grouping below is an organising aid [synthesis]. Session titles verified from the Oxford Academic chapter pages of the Child Group Facilitator Guide [source: Oxford Academic, Lochman, Wells & Lenhart 2008]:

Session 1: Group structure and behavioural goal-setting procedure.
Session 3: Goal setting, Part II (barriers to goals and how to reach them). Session 2 is presumably Goal setting, Part I [inferred].
Session 10: Using self-statements for anger coping, Part III (review of self-instruction; real-life application of coping statements). Parts I and II therefore fall in the sessions just before [inferred].
Sessions 13 and 14: Perspective taking, Parts II and III (continued perspective-taking exercises; then interpersonal problems and considering other people's perceptions). Part I is presumably session 12 [inferred].
Session 15: Perspective taking and problem solving (problem identification; the PICC model).
Session 16: Social problem solving, Part I (PICC applied to example conflicts with friends and with parents).
Session 19: Social problem solving, Part IV (the "etiquette" of social problem solving: basic points and situations).
Session 25: Application of social problem solving to teacher conflict (understanding the teacher).
Session 27: Application of social problem solving to group entry and negotiation with peers (includes a role-play exercise).
Session 32: The group creates a peer-pressure poster for their school, to educate other students.
Session 34: Review and termination of the programme.

Sessions not drawn on: 2, 4–9, 11, 12, 17–18, 20–24, 26, 28–31 and 33 [uncertain]. Where this guide places organisational and study skills, awareness of feelings, the distraction and provocation tasks, relaxation, video work and refusal skills, the placement comes from registries and training material, not from the manual's session titles.

Phase 0: Selection and engagement (before session 1). Goal: identify children whose aggression or disruptiveness puts them at risk (in trials, teacher screening of 4th–5th graders), engage parents, agree logistics with the school. Format: teacher ratings, parent contact, child individual meeting. [source: WWC 2011; Foundations] Practical steps such as a pre-group individual meeting, consent and baseline measures are [synthesis].

Phase 1: Group structure and goal setting (sessions 1–3; session 1 and session 3 verified). Goals: establish group rules, the points and prize system and the session routine; set up the behavioural goal-setting procedure; teach long- and short-term goals and work on barriers to reaching them; start weekly behavioural goals monitored at school. Organisational and study skills probably follow soon after [uncertain: session number not verified]. [source: Oxford Academic chapter pages (sessions 1, 3); Blueprints; CEBC; Google Books record]

Phase 2: Emotion awareness and anger management (roughly sessions 4–11 [inferred]; session 10 verified as the third of a multi-part unit, "Using self-statements for anger coping" [source: Oxford Academic chapter page, session 10]). Goals: label feelings and their intensity; recognise the bodily cues of anger; learn the coping set (distraction, coping self-statements, deep-breathing relaxation) and rehearse it under graded provocation (memory game, one-handed domino tower, puppet teasing, self-control taunting), then apply coping statements to real-life situations. Also coping with anxiety arousal. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation; Blueprints] Session numbers of the individual tasks [uncertain].

Phase 3: Perspective taking and social problem solving (about sessions 12–22; perspective taking verified at sessions 13–15, problem solving with PICC at sessions 15–19 [source: Oxford Academic chapter pages]). Goals: perspective taking and attribution retraining as a multi-session unit, moving from exercises on others' intentions to interpersonal problems and other people's perceptions; then social problem solving with the PICC model (Problem Identification, Choices, Consequences), first on conflicts with friends and parents, then the "etiquette" of problem solving; watching modelling videos, then planning and recording the group's own video of coping and problem solving. [source: Oxford Academic chapter pages; Lochman et al. 2018 presentation; Blueprints] Session numbers for the video work [uncertain].

Phase 4: Applications, peer relations and peer pressure (Year 2: about sessions 23–34 if Blueprints' 22/12 split holds [inferred]). Verified sessions: problem solving applied to teacher conflict (session 25) and to group entry and negotiation with peers (session 27); the group makes a peer-pressure poster for the school (session 32); review and termination (session 34) [source: Oxford Academic chapter pages]. Other named goals: review and apply earlier skills to the new school setting; social skills for entering and staying in positive peer groups; refusal skills for peer pressure, including pressure to use drugs, and neighbourhood problems; study and organisational skills for the new school [source: Blueprints; CEBC; WWC 2011]; their session numbers [uncertain].

Parent strand (in parallel). Year 1: academic support at home, parental stress management (two sessions), identifying target behaviours, positive attention and rewards, effective instructions, rules and expectations, consequences and discipline, managing behaviour outside the home; Year 2: family cohesion, family communication and problem solving (family meetings), supporting the child's social-cognitive skills. [source: Google Books record; Blueprints; WWC 2011; CEBC] [uncertain: which topics fall in Year 1 vs Year 2 was not verified in the manual]

Criteria for moving on

The programme advances by the manual's session schedule, not by mastery tests; none of the sources give formal progression criteria. [uncertain] Practical checks before moving on (your own judgement) [synthesis]: most children can name their anger cues and at least two coping strategies before graded provocation begins; children can stay in control during the easier provocation tasks before the taunting exercise; children can generate several choices and consequences in PICC before they script the video; carry a child who has not got a skill forward through individual sessions rather than holding the group back.

3. Guiding principles

[source for principles 1–4: Blueprints; CEBC; WWC 2011. Principles 5–13: Lochman et al. 2018 Blueprints presentation (developer training material). Principles 14–15: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation; Blueprints.]

Target the risk model, not just the behaviour. Each session should hit social cognition, self-regulation, school bonding or parent involvement; know which one you are working on.
Child and parent components are integrated. Parents learn to prompt and reward exactly what the child is learning that week; keep leaders of both groups in contact.
Skills must generalise. Weekly goals checked at school, homework and individual sessions exist to move skills out of the room; never treat the group as the whole intervention.
Structured and cognitive-behavioural. Fixed agenda, didactic teaching, modelling, role play and practice with feedback, homework.
Feelings are not good or bad; what you do with them matters. Never punish or shame a child for being angry; work on the response.
Catch anger early. Teach the child to treat the first bodily sign as the cue to stop and pick a coping strategy.
Practise under realistic provocation, graded. Skills are rehearsed while being mildly provoked, not only talked about.
Prepare and debrief every session. Brainstorm likely problems beforehand; debrief with your co-leader afterwards.
Structure prevents problems. Consistent start and end times, assigned seating, planned arrivals, departures and transitions, a timekeeper.
Warm rapport plus close monitoring. Learn each child's interests and chat with them, while keeping eyes on the group.
Praise behaviours, often and specifically. Labelled praise for specific acts, especially the prosocial opposite of the problem behaviour.
Correct privately, calmly and quickly. Never confront or correct a child in front of the group; ignore minor disruptions selectively and deal with incidents afterwards one to one.
Prevent deviancy training. Grouping aggressive children risks peers reinforcing talk about aggression or substance use; keep the schedule tight and watch unstructured moments.
Training and supervised feedback are part of the intervention. In the developers' dissemination trial only counsellors who received intensive training with feedback on recorded sessions produced significant child outcomes; record sessions and get consultation for the first year.
Engage parents actively. Parent attendance is often only 30–50%; remove practical barriers (transport, child care, food, timing).

4. Intervention inventory

The facilitator guides' session text is not drawn on here. The Oxford Academic chapter pages (session titles and abstract openings for 12 child sessions) were, and each component's verified place in the manual is noted under it. Otherwise the steps below describe each component as the developers' training materials and programme registries describe it, put into practical sequence. Steps a source names are cited; detail needed to run it in session is marked [synthesis]. All example language is illustrative unless quoted and cited. Copyrighted worksheets are not reproduced; use the client workbooks.

A. Child component

A1. Session routine: agenda, review and key points

Purpose / when: Every group session. Predictable structure lowers disruption and links sessions together. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation; Google Books record lists reviewing the previous session, recalling key points, reviewing weekly goals, points tallied during group and free play as recurring guide terms]
Steps: (1) Start on time; children go to assigned seats. (2) Review weekly goal sheets and award points (A3). (3) Children recall the main points of the previous session. (4) Teach the new skill briefly, then model it. (5) Practise through role play, games or video. (6) Set homework or next week's goal. (7) Tally points; brief free play or prize box if earned; planned exit. The order of steps 2–3 and how free play is used are [synthesis/uncertain].
Example language (illustrative): "Before we start, who can tell me one thing we learned last week about what our bodies do when we get mad?"
Watch for: unstructured gaps (arrival, free play, departure), which is where deviant talk happens; have a timekeeper and a transition signal.

A2. Group rules and contingent reinforcement (points and prize box)

Purpose / when: Session 1 and throughout. Sets norms and rewards participation and following rules. [source: Blueprints ("establishing group rules and contingent reinforcement"); Google Books record (children earning points, prize box)]
Steps: (1) Generate a short list of positively worded rules with the children; leaders add any that are missing (e.g. one person talks at a time, keep hands to self, what is said in group stays in group). (2) Explain how points are earned: following rules, participating, completing goals and homework. (3) Tally points visibly during or at the end of each session. (4) Let children exchange points for items from the prize box at set intervals. (5) Add bonus points, a weekly recognition title or privileges for prosocial behaviour. [source for step 5: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation] Exact point values and exchange rules are in the manual and were not seen [uncertain].
Example language (illustrative): "Marcus, you waited your turn and let Jay finish. That's a bonus point for patience."
Watch for: points becoming a source of conflict between children; rewards given for the child rather than for a specific behaviour.

A3. Goal setting: long-term and short-term goals; weekly goal sheet

Purpose / when: Early Year 1, then weekly throughout. Builds self-regulation and school bonding by linking daily behaviour to goals the child cares about. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation; CEBC; WWC 2011; Google Books record (weekly goal sheets, signed goal sheets)]
Steps: (1) Ask each child for a long-term goal that matters to them (for example staying eligible for a sports team). (2) Break it into a short-term behavioural goal for this week that is concrete, observable and achievable (for example staying calm when called out in P.E., solving a problem without fighting). (3) Write it on the weekly goal sheet. (4) The teacher rates and signs the sheet during the week [source for signing: Google Books record; that the teacher does the rating is [uncertain]]. (5) Review sheets at the start of the next session; points for meeting the goal and for bringing back the signed sheet. (6) Adjust difficulty: if the goal was missed, make it smaller; if met repeatedly, move on. Step 6 is [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Playing on the team next year is the big goal. What's one thing you could do this week, in class, that gets you a step closer?"
Watch for: vague goals ("be good"); goals the child did not choose; sheets lost or not signed (set up a teacher routine during an individual session). Working: goal attainment rising across weeks; child starts proposing own goals.

Manual placement: sessions 1–3. Session 1 sets up group structure and the behavioural goal-setting procedure; session 3 (Goal setting, Part II) works on barriers to goals and how to reach them; goal sheets are then reviewed weekly. [source: Oxford Academic chapter pages, sessions 1 and 3]

A4. Organisational and study skills

Purpose / when: Year 1 and again in Year 2 for the new school. Targets school bonding and academic risk. [source: CEBC; WWC 2011; Blueprints]
Steps (manual detail not seen; [synthesis] based on the named topic): (1) Ask children what gets in the way of homework. (2) Teach use of an assignment book or planner, a home homework routine and a place to keep papers. (3) Practise packing a bag, sorting a folder or breaking an assignment into steps. (4) Set a study-related weekly goal. (5) Tell parents what was taught so they can back it up (parent session on academic support, B1).
Example language (illustrative): "Let's look at your folder together. Where does homework go when it's finished, so it gets back to Ms Lee?"
Watch for: reading or learning difficulties that look like disorganisation; refer for assessment where suspected [synthesis].

A5. Awareness of feelings (types and intensity)

Purpose / when: Before anger management. Children need words for feelings and a sense of intensity to notice escalation. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation; WWC 2011]
Steps: (1) Teach that feelings are neither good nor bad; what matters is what you do with them. (2) Brainstorm feeling words and sort them by type. (3) Rate intensity on a simple scale using recent situations (a visual scale is commonly used; the specific tool in the manual was not confirmed [uncertain]). (4) Connect feelings to bodily sensations, thoughts and behaviour. (5) Homework: notice and record a time you felt angry and how strong it was.
Example language (illustrative): "Being angry isn't bad. Everybody gets angry. The question is what you do next."
Watch for: children who only report "fine" or "mad"; give a menu of words and use examples from the group.

A6. Anger cue recognition (physiological arousal)

Purpose / when: Start of the anger management unit. The first bodily sign of anger becomes the signal to stop and choose a coping step. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation; WWC 2011; NGC]
Steps: (1) Have each child recall a recent time they got angry. (2) Ask what their body did first (hot face, clenched fists, fast heart, tight jaw). (3) Each child picks their own earliest cue. (4) Practise noticing it during mild provocation in later tasks (A7–A10). (5) Link the cue to an action: stop, then choose a strategy.
Example language (illustrative): "What's the very first thing your body does when you start getting mad? That's your warning light."
Watch for: children who notice cues only at peak anger; work backwards in time through a recent incident in an individual session [synthesis].

A7. Distraction: card memory game

Purpose / when: First step of the graded anger coping sequence. Shows that keeping attention on a task helps self-control under distraction. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation; WWC 2011 (distraction techniques)]
Steps: (1) One child plays a card memory (matching) game. (2) Other children or a leader try to distract them within agreed limits (noise, comments, no touching). (3) The player uses strategies to stay focused (ignoring, self-talk). (4) Debrief: what helped you stay focused? What did you say to yourself? (5) Swap roles. Rules for distracters are [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Your job is to keep your eyes on the cards. Their job is to try to pull you off. Let's see what you can do to stay on task."
Watch for: distraction turning into real taunting at this stage; stop and reset rules.

A8. Self-control under distraction: one-handed domino tower

Purpose / when: Next step in the sequence; practice staying calm and on task while being provoked. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation; Blueprints lists dominoes in materials]
Steps: (1) A child builds a domino tower using one hand. (2) Peers try to distract or provoke verbally within agreed limits. (3) The builder uses ignoring, coping self-statements and breathing. (4) Debrief which strategy worked and how angry the child got (intensity rating). (5) Rotate. Details beyond the task itself are [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "If the tower falls, that's fine; what we're watching is how you handle it when it falls."
Watch for: frustration at the task rather than at peers (use it as practice); physical interference (not allowed).

A9. Puppet self-control task

Purpose / when: After the domino task. Practice handling teasing at one remove, before personal teasing. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation ("puppets teasing each other"); Blueprints (puppets in materials)]
Steps: (1) Leaders or children use two puppets; one teases, the other must stay in control. (2) The child voicing the teased puppet says coping statements aloud and chooses a non-aggressive response. (3) Group gives feedback. (4) Swap roles. [synthesis for steps 2–4]
Example language (illustrative): "The puppet is getting teased about his shoes. What can he say to himself so he doesn't blow up?"
Watch for: teasing content that targets real sensitive areas of group members; set limits beforehand.

A10. Self-control taunting exercise

Purpose / when: Final, most demanding step of the anger coping sequence: the leader and child take turns coping with mild real teasing, based on Goodwin & Mahoney (1975 in the literature; the presentation gives 1967) [uncertain on date]. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation]
Consent and safety (exposure-type practice) [synthesis]: only after the child can name cues and use at least two coping strategies; explain the purpose; get the child's agreement and let them stop at any time; agree off-limits topics in advance (family, race, religion, disability, appearance, anything the child names); start with the leader taunting at low intensity and raise it gradually; no touching; end with praise and a calm-down; do not run it with a child who is acutely distressed, has a trauma history linked to bullying or abuse that has not been assessed, or is likely to lose control physically.
Steps: (1) Agree rules and stop signal. (2) Leader teases the child mildly; the child practises cue recognition, coping statements, breathing, ignoring and a calm response. (3) Debrief and rate anger intensity. (4) Swap: the child teases the leader, who models coping aloud. (5) Repeat with slightly stronger teasing as the child succeeds; move to peer pairs only if the group is stable. Steps 4–5 are partly [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "I'm going to say some silly teasing things. Remember, it's practice and you can say stop. Your job is to notice your warning signs and use your cool-down plan."
Watch for: real loss of control (stop, calm, debrief privately); children escalating teasing into real hostility; signs of distress beyond anger. Working: child stays calm at higher intensity across trials and uses self-statements unprompted.

A11. Coping self-statements (self-instruction)

Purpose / when: Taught in the anger unit and used in every later skill. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation; WWC 2011; NGC]
Steps: (1) Explain that what we say to ourselves can calm or fuel anger. (2) Generate short calming statements with the group; the presentation lists themes such as staying cool, not needing to prove yourself and not letting others' words matter. (3) Each child picks two or three that fit them. (4) Practise saying them aloud, then quietly, during the provocation tasks (A7–A10). (5) Write them on a card or in the workbook to carry. Steps 3 and 5 are [synthesis].
Example language: NGC gives the self-talk "Maybe he didn't mean that. If I start a fight, I'll get into trouble." [source: NGC] Illustrative: "Stay cool. I don't have to prove anything."
Watch for: statements that are sarcastic or still hostile; statements too long to remember when angry.

Manual placement: a multi-part unit, "Using self-statements for anger coping". Part III is session 10, which reviews self-instruction and applies coping statements to real-life situations. [source: Oxford Academic chapter page, session 10] Parts I–II fall just before [inferred].

A12. Relaxation (deep breathing)

Purpose / when: Anger unit; also for anxiety arousal. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation; WWC 2011; Blueprints (coping with anxiety and anger arousal through self-statements and relaxation)]
Steps (manual script not seen; [synthesis]): (1) Practise slow breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth, slower out than in, for a few cycles. (2) Pair breathing with the anger cue: cue, then breathe, then self-statement. (3) Practise during provocation tasks. (4) Agree where the child can use it at school without drawing attention.
Example language (illustrative): "When your fists start to tighten, that's your signal: slow breath in, longer breath out, three times."
Watch for: children who feel silly; practise as a group and keep it brief.

A13. Perspective taking and attribution retraining

Purpose / when: After anger management, before problem solving. Aggressive children tend to read hostile intent into ambiguous acts; this widens the range of explanations and builds understanding of others' and their own goals. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation; Blueprints (attributions, cue recall, understanding others' and own goals)]
Steps ([synthesis] on detail): (1) Present an ambiguous situation (a picture, story or role play: someone bumps you in the queue). (2) Ask what the child thinks happened and why. (3) Generate other possible reasons (accident, they were pushed, they didn't see you). (4) Ask what clues in the situation support each. (5) Show how a different explanation leads to a different feeling and response. (6) Practise taking the other person's point of view and naming what each person wants (their goal).
Example language (illustrative): "You thought he did it on purpose. What else could have happened? What would you need to see to know for sure?"
Watch for: children who agree in group but keep the hostile reading in real incidents; review real incidents in individual sessions.

Manual placement: a multi-part unit. Part II (session 13) continues perspective-taking exercises; Part III (session 14) turns to interpersonal problems and asks group members to consider other people's perceptions; session 15 (Perspective taking and problem solving) links it to problem identification and the PICC model. [source: Oxford Academic chapter pages, sessions 13–15]

A14. Social problem solving: PICC model

Purpose / when: Late Year 1 onward; used for peer, teacher and family problems. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation (PICC = Problem identification, Choices, Consequences); Blueprints (generating alternative solutions and weighing consequences); CEBC]
Steps: (1) Problem identification: describe the problem accurately and calmly, including what each person wants (use A13). (2) I/C Choices: brainstorm as many options as possible without judging. (3) Consequences: for each choice, ask what would happen next, short and long term, for you and others. (4) Pick the best choice. (5) Role-play it. (6) Try it during the week and report back. Steps 4–6 are [synthesis] built on the named model.
Example language (illustrative): "Let's PICC this one. What's the problem, exactly? What are all the things you could do? And if you did that, then what?"
Watch for: children jumping to the first (often aggressive) option; few choices generated; expected consequences that favour aggression ("he'll back off"). Working: more and less aggressive choices; realistic consequences.

Manual placement: introduced in session 15; Social problem solving Parts I–IV run to session 19. Part I (session 16) applies PICC to example conflicts with friends and with parents; Part IV (session 19) covers the "etiquette" of problem solving. Later sessions apply it to particular settings: teachers (session 25, A14b) and peer groups (session 27, A18). [source: Oxford Academic chapter pages, sessions 15, 16, 19, 25, 27]

A14b. Applying problem solving to conflict with teachers

Purpose / when: Session 25. Applies social problem solving to conflicts with teachers at school, starting from understanding the teacher. [source: Oxford Academic chapter page, session 25]
Steps ([synthesis]): (1) Children describe a recent conflict with a teacher, calmly and specifically. (2) Perspective taking: what was the teacher trying to get done, and what pressures were they under (a full class, safety, a lesson to finish)? (3) PICC: list the child's choices (wait, ask for help politely, talk to the teacher after class, use a coping statement and comply now), with consequences for each. (4) Role-play the best choice with a leader as the teacher. (5) Set a weekly goal for one teacher situation and tell the teacher about it through the goal sheet.
Example language (illustrative): "When Mr Ortiz called your name, what was he trying to get done right then? What choices did you have that wouldn't land you in the office?"
Watch for: sessions turning into complaints about particular teachers (keep it on what the child can do; never criticise staff); real unfair treatment or safeguarding concerns, which go to the school through proper channels [synthesis]. Working: children name the teacher's goal before their own complaint, and teacher ratings on goal sheets improve.

A15. Modelling videos (viewing)

Purpose / when: During problem-solving work. Children watch videotaped peers recognise arousal, use self-statements and run the whole problem-solving sequence. [source: Blueprints; Foundations (videos)] The specific videos were not identified [uncertain].
Steps ([synthesis]): (1) Watch a short clip. (2) Stop at key moments: what cue did the child notice, what did they say to themselves, what choices did they think of? (3) Discuss consequences. (4) Re-enact in role play.
Example language (illustrative): "Pause there. What did she notice in her body? What do you think she said to herself?"
Watch for: children laughing at or copying aggressive parts; keep discussion on the coping steps.

A16. Group video project

Purpose / when: End of Year 1. Children plan and record their own video showing inhibitory self-statements and problem solving on problems they choose; consolidates skills and motivates. [source: Blueprints; Google Books record (videotaping)]
Steps ([synthesis] on detail): (1) Group chooses realistic problems. (2) Script scenes in which a character notices anger cues, uses self-statements, runs PICC and acts out a good choice. (3) Assign roles; rehearse. (4) Record. (5) Watch together; praise; optionally show parents with consent.
Example language (illustrative): "In your scene, we need to see the moment your character starts getting mad and what they tell themselves."
Watch for: scripts that glamorise aggression; consent for recording and storage (school or agency policy).

A17. Role play and behavioural rehearsal

Purpose / when: Throughout, as the main practice method. [source: Foundations (role-play); Google Books record (role-play)]
Steps ([synthesis]): set the scene; model it (leader); child rehearses; feedback with specific praise and one suggestion; repeat; plan real-world use as a goal.
Example language (illustrative): "Let's try it again, and this time use your calm-down sentence before you answer."
Watch for: performance anxiety; role plays drifting into real conflict.

A18. Social skills: entering and keeping positive peer groups

Purpose / when: Year 2. Increases ties to non-deviant peers; negotiation and cooperation in structured and unstructured settings. [source: Blueprints; CEBC; Lochman et al. 2018 presentation]
Steps ([synthesis] on detail): (1) Identify positive peer groups and activities available at school or in the community. (2) Teach entry: watch first, find a natural opening, join in the activity rather than take it over. (3) Practise negotiation and cooperation in group games. (4) Set a goal to join or approach a group. (5) Problem-solve barriers in individual sessions.
Example language (illustrative): "Before you ask to play, watch for a minute. What are they playing, and where's a gap you could fill?"
Watch for: children rejected by peers repeatedly; work with staff to create structured entry points (clubs, teams).

Manual placement: session 27, "Application of social problem solving to group entry and negotiation with peers", which includes a role-play exercise. [source: Oxford Academic chapter page, session 27]

A19. Refusal skills: peer pressure, drugs and neighbourhood problems

Purpose / when: Year 2. Prevention of substance use and delinquency. [source: WWC 2011 (refusal skills for peer pressure and neighbourhood-based problems); Blueprints (coping with peer pressure to use drugs); CEBC]
Steps ([synthesis] on detail): (1) Identify typical pressure situations (being dared, offered substances, asked to join in trouble). (2) Use PICC to generate refusal choices (say no clearly, suggest an alternative, leave, use humour, stay with friends who don't pressure). (3) Role-play refusing with increasing pressure. (4) Discuss handling the social cost. (5) Plan for neighbourhood risks (who to go to, where to avoid).
Example language (illustrative): "He says you're scared if you don't. What can you say that lets you say no and still feel OK walking away?"
Watch for: substance-use talk becoming boasting or a status contest (deviancy training risk); keep it scripted and redirect.

A19b. Peer-pressure poster project

Purpose / when: Session 32. The group creates a poster for their school to educate other students about peer pressure; it consolidates refusal skills and gives the group a prosocial public role. [source: Oxford Academic chapter page, session 32]
Steps ([synthesis]): (1) Review the refusal choices the group has practised. (2) Agree one or two key messages for other students. (3) Divide tasks (slogan, drawings, list of ways to say no). (4) Make the poster in session, with leaders keeping the content prosocial. (5) Get school approval and display it; praise the group publicly.
Example language (illustrative): "If a younger kid saw this poster on the way to lunch, what's the one thing you'd want them to remember about saying no?"
Watch for: content that glamorises drugs, fighting or rule-breaking (redirect at once: deviancy-training risk); real names or incidents; children left out of the task. Working: children generate refusal lines themselves and take pride in the display.

A20. Individual child sessions

Purpose / when: Periodically throughout (for example about every two months, or more often if needed). Help the child generalise skills, tailor goals and problem solving to their situation, and strengthen the relationship with the leaders. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation; WWC 2011; Blueprints]
Steps ([synthesis] on detail): (1) Check in on the child's week and goal sheet. (2) Review a real recent incident using cues, self-statements and PICC. (3) Adjust the goal. (4) Rehearse a skill the child is weak on. (5) Plan for an upcoming hard situation. (6) Note anything to share with parent or teacher.
Example language (illustrative): "Tell me about the fight on Tuesday. Let's walk it back: when did you first notice you were getting mad?"
Watch for: safeguarding or risk disclosures that are less likely in group; follow local procedures.

A21. Homework and workbook tasks

Purpose / when: Some sessions. Practise between sessions. [source: CEBC (tasks and worksheets for some sessions); Foundations]
Steps: set a small, specific task in the workbook; check it next session; give points for completion. Point linkage is [synthesis].
Watch for: reading demands; read tasks aloud for weak readers [synthesis].

A22. Review and termination

Purpose / when: Session 34, the last group session. Reviews the skills and topics covered across the programme and ends the group. [source: Oxford Academic chapter page, session 34]
Steps ([synthesis]): (1) Run a quick review of each unit (goals, anger cues and coping, perspective taking, PICC, peer skills and refusal) with short games or role plays. (2) Each child names the skills they will keep using and sets one goal for after the group. (3) Agree who the child can go to at school when stuck. (4) Celebrate (certificates, final prize-box exchange). (5) Tell parents and teachers what each child has learned and how to keep prompting it.
Example language (illustrative): "Of everything we've done this year, which tool are you going to keep using, and where will you need it most?"
Watch for: children who struggle with endings (signal the end several sessions ahead); children who still need support, who should be referred on rather than simply discharged.

B. Parent component

The parent component is delivered in groups (about 90 minutes), with individual contacts and home visits, and is synchronised with the child topics. [source: Blueprints; WWC 2011; Google Books record] Topic list confirmed; order and session numbers not verified [uncertain]. Detailed steps are [synthesis] grounded in the named topics.

B1. Supporting academics at home (study skills)

Purpose / when: Early in the parent strand, alongside the child's study-skills work. [source: CEBC; WWC 2011; Google Books record]
Steps: set a regular homework time and place; check the assignment book daily; praise effort and completion; liaise with the teacher; use the child's weekly goal sheet as a shared tool.
Example language (illustrative): "What would a homework routine look like on a normal Tuesday in your house?"
Watch for: parents with their own literacy difficulties; make routines about checking and praising, not teaching content.

B2. Parental stress management

Purpose / when: Two sessions, usually early. Parents' stress drives inconsistent discipline. [source: Blueprints (stress management training in two sessions); CEBC; Google Books record]
Steps: identify sources and signs of stress; link stress to harsh or inconsistent responses; teach brief calming (breathing, time out for the parent), noticing stressful thoughts and replacing them with coping thoughts (paralleling the child's self-statements), and making time for self-care.
Example language (illustrative): "When you're tired and he starts arguing, what goes through your mind? What could you say to yourself instead?"
Watch for: parental depression, substance use, or domestic violence; screen and refer [synthesis].

B3. Identifying target behaviours

Purpose / when: Before reward and discipline sessions. [source: WWC 2011; Blueprints]
Steps: list problem behaviours and their prosocial opposites; choose a few specific, observable targets; track frequency for a week.
Example language (illustrative): "Instead of 'he's disrespectful', what exactly does he do, and what would you like him to do instead?"
Watch for: global labels; too many targets.

B4. Positive attention, praise and rewards

Purpose / when: Early; foundation for discipline. [source: CEBC (using positive attention); WWC 2011 (rewarding appropriate behaviour); Google Books record]
Steps: catch the child being good; give specific, immediate labelled praise; add small rewards or privileges for target behaviours; reward the skills the child is learning in group (calming down, problem solving). Ignoring of minor attention-seeking misbehaviour may be part of this unit [uncertain: not confirmed in the sources].
Example language (illustrative): "I saw you take a breath when your sister grabbed the remote. That was really grown-up."
Watch for: praise that is vague or followed by criticism ("good, but...").

B5. Effective instructions

Purpose / when: After positive attention. [source: WWC 2011; Lochman et al. 2018 presentation]
Steps: get the child's attention; give one clear, specific instruction as a statement, not a question; wait; praise compliance; follow through if not.
Example language (illustrative): "Jamal, look at me. Shoes in the cupboard now, please."
Watch for: chains of commands, shouted commands from another room, repeated warnings.

B6. Rules and age-appropriate expectations

Purpose / when: Mid-strand. [source: CEBC; WWC 2011]
Steps: agree a short list of clear house rules; match expectations to age; post them; explain consequences in advance.
Watch for: rules that differ between caregivers.

B7. Consequences and discipline

Purpose / when: After rewards and instructions are in place. [source: CEBC (appropriate discipline); WWC 2011 (applying consequences to negative behaviour)]
Steps: use mild, brief, predictable consequences (for example time out or loss of a privilege; the manual's specific procedures were not seen [uncertain]); apply calmly and consistently; avoid harsh physical punishment; return to positive attention afterwards.
Example language (illustrative): "You hit your brother, so no tablet tonight. You can try again tomorrow."
Watch for: escalation; parents using threats they don't carry out.

B8. Managing behaviour outside the home and monitoring

Purpose / when: Year 1 to Year 2 transition. [source: Blueprints]
Steps: plan ahead for shops, visits and public places; know where the child is, with whom and doing what as they get older; agree check-in routines.
Watch for: monitoring that becomes intrusive or conflictual with early adolescents.

B9. Family cohesion, communication and family meetings

Purpose / when: Mostly Year 2. [source: WWC 2011 (weekly family meetings); CEBC (family communication and problem solving); Google Books record (family cohesion)]
Steps: plan regular positive family time; hold a short weekly family meeting with a fixed agenda (good things this week, a problem to solve, plans); use the child's PICC steps for family problems; practise listening without interrupting.
Example language (illustrative): "In your family meeting, let him lead the PICC steps on the bedtime problem."
Watch for: meetings becoming complaint sessions; keep them short and start with positives.

B10. Supporting the child's social-cognitive skills

Purpose / when: Throughout. [source: Foundations; WWC 2011]
Steps: tell parents each week what the child is learning; give them a prompt to use at home ("what's your warning sign?"); reward use of the skill.

B11. Individual parent contacts and home visits

Purpose / when: Periodically (about 6–7 over 16 months in trials). [source: Blueprints; WWC 2011]
Steps ([synthesis]): catch up on missed sessions; tailor strategies to the family; troubleshoot.

C. Leader group-management techniques

[source for all: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation]

Preparation: plan the session and brainstorm likely problems; debrief afterwards.
Set-up: assigned seats; plan arrivals and departures; position a leader near active children; a brief cooling-off option.
Directions: gain attention first; give simple, specific directions; ask one or two children to repeat them.
Praise: frequent labelled praise of behaviours, particularly prosocial opposites; bonus points, weekly recognition titles or privileges.
Correction: selective ignoring of minor disruption; never correct in front of the group; deliver consequences quickly and calmly; redirect the group to a new activity.
Transitions: plan them; use an attention signal; assign a timekeeper.
Example language (illustrative): "Everyone, eyes on me when I raise my hand. Thank you, Leo and Sam, for being first."

5. Handling problems

Items tagged [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation] come from the developers' training material; everything else is [synthesis].

Disruptive group behaviour. Prevent with structure (assigned seats, tight schedule, planned transitions, timekeeper, attention signal); praise children who are on task; ignore minor disruptions selectively; give consequences quickly and calmly; redirect the whole group to a new activity; never correct a child in front of peers; deal with incidents privately afterwards. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation]

Persistently disruptive child. Individualised behaviour plan; involve teacher and parents; split the group into subgroups with one leader each; meet the child privately. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation] If disruption continues, consider moving the child to individual delivery; the developers found benefit from individual delivery, with larger gains than group for some children. [source: Blueprints] [synthesis on using it as a fallback]

Deviancy training (peers reinforcing aggression or substance talk). Watch for it especially in unstructured moments; keep schedules tight; do not laugh at or engage with war stories; redirect at once; avoid long free time; consider composition (avoid grouping several highly aggressive or older, more delinquent children together; mix severity where possible). [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation for monitoring and tight schedules; composition advice [synthesis]]

Child loses control during provocation exercises. Stop the exercise, give a calm-down space, debrief privately, and step back to an easier level of provocation next time. Check off-limits topics were respected. [synthesis]

Child refuses the taunting exercise or role play. Respect the refusal; let the child observe or take the leader-teasing role first, or practise with puppets; praise watching and coaching others. [synthesis]

Stuck client: skills in group but not at school or home. Use individual sessions to analyse real incidents; make the weekly goal more specific; get the teacher to prompt the child's warning-sign cue; share the child's self-statements with parents. [synthesis built on the generalisation purpose of individual sessions and goal sheets: source: WWC 2011; Blueprints]

Goal sheets not returned or not signed. Set up the routine with the teacher face-to-face; give a backup copy; give points for returning the sheet even when the goal was missed. [synthesis]

Low parent attendance (often 30–50%). Provide transport, child care, a meal or snacks and convenient timing; use individual contacts and home visits to cover missed content. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation; Blueprints] Phone or brief catch-up contacts, and the Internet-enhanced version with web resources, are options when attendance cannot be raised. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation on the Internet-enhanced version; using it as a fallback is [synthesis]]

Parent non-adherence to home practice. Shrink the task to one behaviour; problem-solve barriers; address parental stress first (B2); praise any attempt. [synthesis]

Rupture with a child (feels picked on, sulks, refuses to attend). Meet one-to-one; acknowledge the child's view; repair by giving the child a valued role (timekeeper, demonstrator); review whether correction was public. [synthesis drawing on the developers' rule not to correct in front of the group]

Rupture with a parent (feels blamed). Frame the programme as support for a hard child at a hard age; emphasise strengths; acknowledge stress; do not argue over discipline philosophy, offer to try one change as an experiment. [synthesis]

Overwhelm or high distress in a child. Stop provocation work; check for anxiety, trauma, bullying, abuse or depression; refer for assessment. If a child raises self-harm or suicidal thoughts, follow your service's risk assessment and safeguarding procedure the same day, inform parents unless that increases risk, and discuss safe storage or removal of means at home with parents. [synthesis; standard practice]

Disclosures of abuse or neighbourhood violence. Follow mandatory reporting and safeguarding procedures; do not investigate in group; reassure the child about what happens next. [synthesis]

Children with ADHD, intellectual disability or deafness. Shorten teaching, add movement and visual supports, increase reinforcement; adaptations exist for deaf children and children with mild intellectual disability and the Utrecht version adds activities for shorter attention spans. [source: Blueprints; Lochman et al. 2018 presentation] Specific adaptations are [synthesis].

Running short of time (only one school year or fewer sessions). Use the abbreviated version (24 child, 10 parent sessions), which the developers report kept effects at three years; booster sessions did not add long-term benefit. [source: Lochman et al. 2018 presentation; Blueprints]

Leader drift from the manual. Record sessions; get regular consultation and feedback on recordings for the first year; the developers' data show basic workshop training alone was not enough. [source: Blueprints; WWC 2011; Lochman et al. 2018 presentation; CEBC (fidelity checklists available from the programme contact)]

Sources

Sources:

Coping Power – California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC)
What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report: Coping Power (2011)
Implementation of an Evidence-based Program (Coping Power), Blueprints Conference 2018 presentation (cited as "Lochman et al. 2018 presentation"; presenters' names were not confirmed [uncertain])
Coping Power – Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development
Coping Power – Foundations guidebook
Coping Power – National Gang Center Strategic Planning Tool
Coping Power: Child Group Program Facilitator Guide – Google Books record (catalogue record and contents headings only)
Coping Power: Child Group Program Facilitator Guide – Oxford Academic, chapter 1 page (abstract only)
RTI record: Use of the Coping Power program to treat a 10-year-old girl (abstract only)

Further sources (Oxford Academic chapter pages of Coping Power: Child Group Program: Facilitator Guide; session titles and abstract openings only):