Hope, compassion, support, and help for behaviorally challenging kids and their caregivers

Lives in the Balance is the non-profit organization founded by child psychologist Dr. Ross Greene, author of The Explosive Child and Lost at School, and originator of the Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) approach. The "lenses" and strategies provided by the CPS model are effective with kids often described as angry, difficult, defiant, and oppositional. While we don't use those words, this website contains a ton of information – streaming video, an extensive Listening Library, and a boatload of additional resources -- to help you learn about and implement the research-based CPS model and provide you with the support you need. Just CLICK HERE to get started.

And if you’re ready to help Lives in the Balance educate others about the true factors contributing to kids’ behavioral challenges...about why time-outs, detentions, suspensions, expulsions, restraints, and locked-door seclusion often make things worse (and about what to do instead)...this website has lots for you, too.  Want to get involved?  CLICK HERE to find out how.

NEW! The First Annual Lives in the Balance Conference on Collaborative Problem Solving took place in November in Augusta, Maine, and now you can watch streaming video showing highlights of the day, including the Maine Reports mini-documentary.

NEW! How does your school discipline program stack up? Take the Lives in the Balance School Discipline Survey.