Professional Development
	Agents of Change Training
	Aggression Replacement Training
	Collaborative Family Problem Solving
	Pro-social Modelling

Professional Development

Agents of Change Training (ACT)

Target:  Low/Moderate risk
Age:      13-16 years
Gender: Male/female
Setting:  Group/Individual

In order to effectively treat the antisocial and aggressive behaviour of young people interventions need to address the cognitive, behavioural and emotional components of aggression to evince even moderate treatment gains. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) interventions aim to do this through training in self-instruction and self-regulation techniques, social problem-solving, affect labelling, social perspective taking (or moral reasoning), relaxation training, and anger management skills. Typically cognitive-behavioural treatments employ an integrated multimodal approach in addressing the complexities of child, adolescent and early adult aggression.

Agents of Change Training (ACT) is a multi-modal, cognitive-behavioural program (group or individual) designed to reduce the aggressive and antisocial behaviour of low-moderate risk young people. The program content of ACT is informed by well established, evidence-based programs including Aggression Replacement Training, EQUIP, and The Prepare programs. ACT comprises two interrelated components:

Life Skills Training (Cognitive & Behavioural)

The intention of Self-Control Training is twofold:
(a) to reduce the frequency of anger arousal, and
(b) to teach techniques of self-control when anger is aroused.

Self-Control Training is informed by research showing that the self-regulatory skills such as the ability to think before acting are measurably deficient in impulsive children and antisocial adolescents and that those self-regulatory skills can be taught. In addition, research suggests that antisocial/impulsive youth frequently misinterpret the behaviour and intentions of others as well as their own bodily responses that signal certain emotions - anger, fear, anxiety - which thus increases the likelihood of anger arousal

Learning Outcomes

1. An introductory understanding of cognitive-behavioural and social learning principles underpinning ACT

2. Knowledge of the theory and experiential practice of Life Skills and Anger Control Training

3. Challenging cognitive distortions associated with aggressive behaviour 

4. An understanding of the principles of transfer and maintenance of gain