The Kids Who Aren't Okay: Reimagining School Support from Reactive to Proactive

In this session, Dr. Ross Greene, clinical psychologist and originator of the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS) Model, sits down with host Greg Santucci to unpack the ideas at the heart of his latest book, The Kids Who Aren't Okay. Dr. Greene reframes concerning behavior as a frustration response and shows how his three-step problem-solving process gives kids a real voice in the solutions that affect them. Together they explore what it means to be early instead of late, why rewards and punishments fall short, and how the model works for speaking and non-speaking kids alike. Educators, parents, and therapists will walk away with a new way of understanding why kids struggle, along with practical guidance for solving problems collaboratively, building the structures at school and home that make this work possible, and moving away from responses that arrive too late to help. It's an honest and hopeful look at how we can better support the kids who need us most.