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Aggression Replacement Training (ART) will be offered in the Warren County School District again this year.
According to Family Services of Warren County (FSWC) director Mike Philhower, the program, which ran its first cohort from Feb. to April of 2018, was "a positive experience, and we are ready to start round two working collaboratively with the district, Beacon Light Behavioral Health Systems, and other community entities." The last cohort had five participants.
"Starting any new service takes time and patience from all involved," said Philhower, adding that "we have learned what worked well with our first cohort and what did not work well."
Philhower said that some necessary adjustments are being made in anticipation of referrals for a service that was identified as a need by Forest-Warren Human Services in 2016.
"While our group was smaller than we hoped for the first round, we did not see many cancellations or no shows like we did at the office," said Philhower, which seems to indicate that the program can be successful when offered in the school setting.
And, with school just around the corner, Philhower said, referrals are currently being accepted for the first ART cohort of the new academic year. The method isn't really therapy, but rather an approach to helping youth who are exhibiting challenging behaviors to make the changes necessary for them to be functional and successful not just at school but in their adult lives as well.
The program began through FSWC in April of 2016 and has been successful, said Philhower, although the problem they see most often is attrition – group members not being able to fulfill the ten weeks of multiple group sessions per week.
"Providing this treatment group at the school during school hours ensures the students that need this program can access it and reduces outside barriers" such as transportation and extracurricular activities.
The program has always been meant for delivery in a more institutionalized setting than an outpatient clinic, whether that be schools, residential facilities, or detainment centers. But the hope was that the definite need in the region for the service would make the place it was delivered less of an issue. And it did to a point, Philhower said, but the goal was really to get it into the school if possible.
That goal was realized last year, and it was successful enough to warrant a second run.
The ART model works with youth in three domains of behavior: social skills; anger control and; moral reasoning. The program lasts ten weeks, and groups will meet for a total of 2 days a week, one and a half hours a day, Philhower said.
"Exact days and times are being worked out." The goal is a group of eight to ten youth, with a tentative start date sometime near the end of September or beginning of October, Philhower said.
The program requires two therapists for each group session, and special training to administer ART is required. Out of seven full time FSWC therapists, five are trained in ART.
Referrals for Warren Area High School and/or Warren County Career Center students are currently being accepted, Philhower said, and can be made by anyone who feels a student may benefit from ART. This includes parents, educators, clergy, or anyone with a WAHS/WCCC student in their life who struggles with issues of anger management, social skills, and/or impulse control.
The referral includes demographic information and also a 50-point inventory that helps to paint a clearer picture of the student being referred. The questions ask the referrer to rate behaviors on a five point Likert scale in terms of whether the behaviors are almost never, seldom, sometimes, often, or almost always an issue.
Philhower said that anyone who sees issues surrounding a student such as: making threats or assaults against staff, peers, parents, or siblings; a history of verbal, physical, or relational aggression (bullying behavior); meeting diagnostic criteria for Oppositional Defiant Disorder or other related conduct disorders; emotional reactivity and disruptive behavior patterns; suppression of anger or difficulty expressing anger and emotion and; demonstrated social skills deficits, should make a referral.
"If this works well and we can build up the number of clients and increase familiarity of this service within the school and community, providing ART in collaboration with Beacon Light on a regular basis is of interest" to the agency.
To obtain a referral, or to find out if ART may benefit a student you know, contact Mike Philhower by calling FSWC at (814) 723-1330. Completed referrals can be faxed to Beacon Light's Outpatient Clinic Director Kari Salapek at (814) 726-8426. Beacon Light will be completing the intake paperwork and FSWC staff will be providing the intervention itself in the school setting.