Problem-Solving Training (Prepare Curriculum Implementation Guide, Mark Amendola and Robert Oliver, Series Editors)

Edited by Mark Amendola and Robert Oliver, this and other Prepare Curriculum Implementation Guides are intended to further Arnold P. Goldstein’s seminal work, The Prepare Curriculum: Teaching Prosocial Competencies. In conjunction with Goldstein’s Prepare Curriculum, the guides describe and give direction to the continued expansion of Prepare methods, offering practitioners coherent, evidence-based approaches for enhancing the social, emotional, and decision-making abilities of adolescents and younger children.

After graduating with a bachelor’s of science from Eastern Canada’s Acadia University, Kim Parker began a 30-year career working with youth in Montreal. When Aggression Replacement Training was first introduced at Batshaw Youth and Family Centres, Kim became involved immediately. She began work with Family TIES groups at their inception and was instrumental in the creation of an agency-wide ART implementation plan. As the ART programming specialist, Kim provides support for ART through program development, facilitation, training, and coaching. In addition she has been responsible for the collection of evaluation data. At the elementary school level, she has developed a conflict resolution program that incorporates Skillstreaming into other established programs. Kim acts frequently as a consultant and trainer on numerous Prepare Curriculum elements and Family TIES internationally. Along with Robert Calame, Kim has had numerous articles published on Family TIES. In 2007, Kim was honored as Youth Care Worker of the Year by the Quebec Association of Educators. In 2008, Kim was recipient of the Ruth and Manny Batshaw Award of Excellence for her significant contributions in the field of child and youth care.

Robert Calame is the former Coordinator of Aggression Replacement Training® Programming at Batshaw Youth and Family Centres in Montreal, Canada. The agency has over 35 separate applications of ART in operation, as well as the adaptation for families referred to as Family TIES. Robert’s social work background includes a bachelor’s degree and studies in the master’s program from the McGill University School of Social Work, and he has been working in the youth care field for over 30 years. His relevant interests are doing research toward improving generalization of competencies of the Prepare Curriculum and Aggression Replacement Training while working with families of youth in training. Robert offers training and consultation internationally in Dr. Goldstein’s Prepare Curriculum topics in the form of workshops titled “Teaching Prosocial Behavior to Troubled Youth” and is former secretary of the advisory board for the International Centre for Aggression Replacement Training (ICART) and of the Quebec Association of Educators. With the help of co-author Kim Parker, Robert has had numerous articles and chapters published on the topic of Family TIES and Batshaw’s work with ART and Prepare Curriculum components. In 2007, he was presented with a certificate of meritorious achievement for dedication and achievement in the field of child and youth care by the selection committee for the Ruth and Manny Batshaw Award of Excellence.

Knut Kornelius Gundersen is a professor at the Centre for Social Competence at Diakonhjemmet University College, Sandnes, Norway. He has written several books and scientific articles in the area of social competence, environmental therapy, and social networking. He has presented at national and international congresses in 14 different countries and is one of the key persons involved in the training and implementation of ART and Prepare Curriculum components in Norway, Iceland, Finland, Denmark, and Russia. President of the PRepare for Evidence-based Practice in Social Emotional Competency (PREPSEC) International board, he has also been an active member of the European Network for Social and Emotional Competence (ENSEC) organization, which targets the development of social and emotional competency via a European network of experts.

Andrew Simon began his career as a stress management instructor in Montreal, Canada which led him to working, for the past 26 years, for Batshaw Youth and Family Centres. In 2000, Andy became team leader of a residential treatment unit for adolescents, where he has been largely responsible for the development and implementation of a crisis intervention program for youth based largely on Problem-Solving Training. Since 2003, he has been a master trainer in Problem-Solving Training and other components of the Prepare Curriculum. Aside from training Batshaw staff in ART facilitation, Andy has been involved in teaching social competencies to Cree Social Services in Northern Quebec. He lives north of Montreal, where he has been involved in various community projects, including writing a column on parenting for the Laurentian Sun.

John C. Choi started his professional life working in community settings with children and families. Upon completion of his psychology degree at McGill University, he joined Batshaw Youth and Family Centres in Montreal, Canada as well as established his own private practice, Mentoring Services. Using his passion to learn and teach, John contributed to the field of child and youth care and became a master trainer of the Prepare Curriculum elements, in particular, Problem-Solving Training. John also has developed expertise as a Peace Circle Keeper and a RAP/Circle of Courage Trainer. John was the 2011 recipient of the Lewis Peace Prize and since has become an onsite manager at Batshaw. He hopes to make further contributions to the field of child and youth care, health and social services, and, of course, to the youth and families he serves in his community in Quebec, Canada.

Mark Amendola, L.S.W., B.C.D. (Social Work, Case Western Reserve University, 1989), has had extensive experience in work with adolescent disorders since 1981. Beginning on the front lines as a child care worker in a residential setting, he has moved to various positions to include day treatment, partial hospitalization, and community-based programming. Currently he is the Executive Director of Perseus House, a non-profit, designed to provide preventative and intervention services to children ages birth – 18. He also maintains a clinical practice that focuses on adolescent disorders and familial conflict. Mark serves in various community capacities in Pennsylvania and nationally, including previous board affiliation with Community House for Women, and with Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (CHADD). Mark’s work has focused on the delivery of services to troubled and troubling young people and families in an effort to improve their quality of life.

Dr Robert Oliver, Chief Educational Officer of Perseus House Charter School of Excellence, has served in varied capacities, especially those including educational, residential, and partial hospitalization services. He also was a foster parent for Erie County Office of Children and Youth for 15 years. Bob serves as a board member of the Boys & Girls Club and the Erie Earn-It Program of Juvenile Probation. He is also a member of the Children & Youth Advisory Board, Erie County.