NCJ Number
171441
Date Published
1995
Length
373 pages
Annotation
This book provides all the material needed for understanding and implementing the EQUIP program, a new treatment program for youth with antisocial behavioral problems.
Abstract
In the EQUIP program, such youths become motivated and equipped to help one another in groups. The goal of the "equipment" meeting is to "equip" the group with needed skills and resources for helping its members. Equipment meetings are held once or twice weekly, replacing mutual help meetings on those days and providing not only training in important skills but also some variety in the daily group sessions. Equipping the group means providing direct help to group members with deficits in social or anger management skills, cognitive distortions, and delays in moral development. In the EQUIP program, the emphasis is on how the group can be helpful rather than on how the group or its members need help. The first chapter develops the rationale for EQUIP, introduces its basic features and components, and describes a recent study that documents its effectiveness. Other chapters in the first part of the book focus on the techniques and skills needed for motivating and equipping antisocial youths to help one another. The chapters in part 2 of the book focus on program-level considerations, including procedures for program implementation and maintenance, principles for developing a positive staff culture, and ways in which EQUIP might be adapted or expanded. Certain of the assessment instruments mentioned throughout the book are presented in the appendixes. 254 references and name and subject indexes