Implementing Collaborative Problem Solving -- whether at home, school, or in a restrictive setting -- isn’t easy. So it can help to hear from people who’ve already made the journey, with all the roadblocks, doubts, challenges, and breakthroughs that take place along the way, and in this part of the website you can do just that.

✓ To hear from others who have implemented the CPS model and the various hurdles they overcame along the way, check out the streaming video on the Voices of CPS page.

✓ In the Tell Your Story section, you can tell us (and everyone else) about your journey in parenting, teaching, and working with a child with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges.  And, if you've implemented the CPS model, you can describe your own peaks and valleys in using the model and how you've seen it make a difference. We highlight a few submissions every month. Parents, educators, and staff members ... we want to hear from you!  (If it's not your style to tell your own story, this is also a good opportunity to read about others' journeys.)

✓ Parenting or teaching a child with behavioral challenges is no laughing matter, but sometimes a little humor can help. Check out the collection of comics on the Comic Relief page...and submit a caption for the current comic (if you're inclined).  The winning caption (and the comic) is posted on the website, and the author of the caption receives a free Lives in the Balance t-shirt and bumper sticker.

✓ The First Annual Lives in the Balance Conference on Collaborative Problem Solving was held in November, 2011, in Augusta, Maine...and you can view the highlights (through streaming video) on the Annual Conference page (including the Maine Reports mini-documentary).

✓ Every year, Lives in the Balance recognizes parents, educators, staff members, and clinicians who have devoted themselves to implementing the CPS model in their realms.  But we need you to nominate someone you know for a Trailblazer Award! You can do that on the Trailblazers page...and meet the 2011 winners.