Answer Key for the OST Program and Homework Assignments
Student Guides
Student Evaluation
Certificate of Completion
*Desktop/laptop version: You can also track your team's progress.
According to Dr. David Burns, a researcher and author in the mental health field, “everyone experiences unreasonable and/or irrational thoughts from time-to-time, even children”. Subsequently, it’s important to teach children skills that will assist them in circumventing these unreasonable thoughts. You might be asking yourself, how do I do this? One answer is to teach children cognitive behavioral principles. Cognitive behavioral principles suggest that thoughts, feelings and behaviors are connected—that when a situation is interpreted in a subjective, one-sided manner, it can create negative/unhelpful thoughts, feelings and behaviors. With a basic understanding of cognitive behavioral principles, you can teach your students/children how to process uncomfortable situations at school, at home and on the playground. The On Second Thought: From Iffy to Witty Thoughts (OST) Program teaches children, through psychoeducation, said skills and is designed to assist children in improving relationships, impulse control and decreasing maladaptive behaviors. This program is offered in an animated format on desktops/laptops for Mac for easy delivery in both schools and/or at home.
This program is an interactive learning tool consisting of 19 activities made up of 566 slides that help kids understand how their thoughts affect their feelings and behavior. In addition, this program helps kids learn how to change their thoughts from unhelpful to helpful.
This program is based on the work of Dr.’s Albert Ellis, Aaron Beck and David Burns who are pioneers in researching the relationship between unhelpful thoughts and how they affect feelings and behaviors. Dr. Busto and Paula Busto have adapted these concepts and turned them into a kid friendly program. Using colorful and comically illustrated idioms that are couched in interactive activities and real life stories, children become aware that their first thought may not be the best choice.
The Power of Thought: Helping children learn how to think their way to feeling good.
Participants will understand basic principles of thought and readily learn that: how they think affects how they feel, what they do and what happens. This program further highlights unhelpful and helpful thoughts and offers children the opportunity to recognize the value of replacing an “iffy” thought with a “witty” one.
