Minimum Standards for ICART Recommended
ART Training
Member Training and Standards Committee

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Introduction

According to Research Press Arnold Goldstein has sold over 1,200,000 copies of his books around the world. The two editions of ART have sold approximately 500,000 copies combined. The Malmö conferences revealed that ART is practiced in over 20 countries across the Americas, Europe, Oceania and Asia.

This means that with the help of the ART, Prepare and Skillstreaming books dedicated teachers, therapists and social workers around the world are already implementing and conducting Aggression Replacement and Prepare Training with an unknown number of conduct disordered children and youth in schools, special school units, correctional facilities and psychiatric services. We know that between 4 percent and 7 percent of all children and youth who attend school present behavior problems that require systematic treatment. There is no evidence that the number is declining.  In a Norwegian study (Sørlie, 2000) 1 -2 percent of pupils were found to engage in serious acts of violence such as assaults on teachers. Again there is no evidence for a decline in these numbers.

ICART has a historically important role to play in ensuring quality delivery of ART (as the program stands) to a population specifically targeted for, and satiated by, (multi-)media violence (AMA, 1996; Anderson & Bushman, 2002; APA, 1993; Bushman & Anderson, 2001; Johnson et al, 2002). This same population is plagued by chronic absence of adequate proximal role models who can demonstrate that while it may be okay to get angry it is never okay to get violent. The world’s children and youth are being explicitly taught, every day, that violence is an acceptable and effective solution for interpersonal disputes and conflicts (National Television Violence Study, 1996). 

There is a present and increasing need for courses that provide teachers, therapists and other concerned professionals with high quality training programs that enable and empower them to conduct ART to good effect with their chosen population and in accordance with accepted standards of treatment fidelity.

The following minimum standards of training allow for the effective dissemination of ART:  

Preamble

ICART supports four levels of training: practitioner, trainer, master trainer and site provision.  This document sets forth minimum training standards for each level designed to ensure high quality delivery of ART (with regard to both content and effective application with client groups) and to ensure program integrity to further research on program efficacy.

ICART submits the following evidence:

i)   Comparison with programs devoted to conduct disordered children and youth, delinquency prevention, and violence prevention. These programs have all received an exemplary rating from the US Department of Health Promotion and Education - Strengthening Americas Families project (1999) (see appendix 1).

ii)  Comparison with training programs conducted in the nationwide establishment of Parent Management Training – Oregon (Patterson et al, 1999) and Multi-Systemic Therapy (Henggeler et al, 1998) in Norway 1999 – 2001.

iii)  Continuing evaluations of post-graduate training in the teaching of social, emotional and cognitive skills (Goldstein, Gundersen, Kalt, Moynahan & Svartdal, 2000).

iv)  The Washington CJAA study stating that ART has a significant impact upon recidivism “if it is well delivered”  (mid-term report at one year follow up, Barnoski, 2003 personal communication).

v)  Experience in training over 300 ART practitioners throughout Norway.

vi)  Current course design as offered by Ungdomsalternativet (Kalt et al, 2003) based upon the training of over 1,000 practitioners in Sweden and Poland.

1. PRACTITIONER

Goals

·        To equip practitioners with practical skills in the effective transmission of The ART program as described in Goldstein, Glick & Gibbs (1998).

·        To equip practitioners with practical skills in fulfilling the role of skills model, skills coach and skills facilitator.

·        To equip practitioners with organizational skills in the conducting and continuous evaluation of ART training with clients/pupils.

·        To equip practitioners in basic data collection procedures that enable validation of ART in relation to outcomes as well as the measurement of effect upon participants both within and between ART sessions.

Required Training Components

·        Practitioner training must be conducted by a minimum of two ICART trainers.

·        Maximum number of course participants is 24 (12 per trainer):

o       Our experience indicates 12 practitioner candidates per ICART trainer (see below). This allows for effective basic training in groups of 6, rapid turnaround between trainer and pupil/client roles, and systematic variation in trainer tasks.

o       This ratio is utilized in site licensing in connection with the Functional Family Therapy program (Alexander et al. 2000).

o        Master trainers (see below) may well be competent and comfortable with a higher master trainer to practitioner ratio, with the proposed maximum being 1: 18.  

 

Practitioner Course  

·        Intensive introductory course (36 hours)

o       Role play based

·        12 hours Skillstreaming and Transfer Training,

·        12 hours Anger Control Training and Transfer Training

·        12 hours Moral Reasoning Training

 

·        Consultation and supervision (24 hours) 

o       Live supervision of practitioners in conducting Skillstreaming, Anger Control Training and Moral Reasoning Training

·        Practitioner candidates are supervised in actual training with students/clients in all three ART components.

·        Supervision may be carried out by one ART trainer/master trainer.

·        Thus one ICART trainer may supervise 12 candidates.

o       Group consultation based on video recordings of Skillstreaming, Anger Control Training and Moral Reasoning Training, as performed by practitioners in their places of work

·        The group format ensures that candidates can learn from each others’successes.

·        Group consultation has an important function in building critical self-observation of successes and the need for adjustment of delivery of course content.

o       Internet/telephone based counseling in connection with practitioners’ obligatory practicum

o       Additional “booster sessions” may be arranged at the discretion of practitioners and ICART trainers.

 

·        Obligatory practicum (see below)*

o       Practitioners shall conduct a minimum 36-session ART program with clients/pupils of their choice:

·        Minimum 12 skillstreaming sessions

·        Minimum 12 anger control sessions

·        Minimum 12 moral reasoning sessions – dilemma discussion or equivalent method   

·        This must be considered an absolute minimum requirement given the results of the Norwegian study (Gundersen & Svartdal, 2003) and the conclusions of The Washington Committee on the Juvenile Accountability Act (2003)/Washington State Institute for Public Policy Outcome Evaluation for Research-Based Programs for Juvenile Offenders (Barnoski, 2004) .

Course Organization:

o       3 x 2 days or 4 + 2 days organization of component training over two/three weeks to allow for assimilation of ART techniques, terminology, and accommodation to the role play format

o       Use of video recordings to provide specific feedback to participants on technique, fluency and ability to maintain structure

o       Use of PowerPoint ® or similar presentations to convey ART content in addition to the ART manual (Goldstein, Glick & Gibbs, 1998) and Skillstreaming books (McGinnis & Goldstein, 1990, 1997; Goldstein & McGinnis)

 

Course Components:

o       12-hour role play/simulation-based training in Skillstreaming:

·        Trainer demonstration of conducting skillstreaming session

·        Focus on trainer – assistant trainer tasks

·        Focus on structure as well as content

·        Focus on coaching skills

·        Focus on role play technique

·        Focus on transfer training

 

o       12 hour role play/ simulation training in Anger Control Training:

·        Focus on thorough understanding of course elements

·        Focus on the “person – environment” duet

·        Focus on anger signals (physiological)

·        Focus upon external and internal anger cues

·        Focus upon successive approximations (shaping) of cognitive, emotional and physical anger reducers

·        Focus upon transfer training

(It is highly recommended that Goldstein & Martens (2000) Lasting Change be used as the basic course book in ensuring generalization and maintenance skills in addition to Goldstein, Glick & Gibbs (1998) ART Manual.)

o       12-hour role play/simulation in Moral Reasoning Training:

·        Use of structured dilemma discussion method as portrayed in both the ART training manual and Prepare Curriculum + role play based dilemma enactments.

·        Moral dilemma training can be used profitably as a springboard for simulation training in combining all three ART components in real life, dilemma based skills training.

* The importance of the ART practicum

·        Implementation and completion of the ART program requires at least 10 weeks. Our research in Norway indicates that a minimum of 12 – 16 weeks is required due to the “interference” of public holidays, school projects and trips, etc. In addition, our experience dictates that students/clients often require booster sessions to achieve fluency in the use of social and anger control skills. This led us to increase the number of sessions within each component to 12.

o       Practitioners must demonstrate their ability to conduct structured ART training with their chosen group.

o       Practitioners must demonstrate their ability to master motivational and discipline challenges that students/pupils/clients may present.

o       All ART sessions must be evaluated using CJAA (Washington) instruction evaluation materials or equivalent.

o       Use of McGinnis & Goldstein parent, student and teacher skillstreaming evaluation charts is encouraged before and immediately after completion of ART practicum. Follow up scoring after 6 months is also encouraged. 

·        Counseling and Supervision

o       Minimum 6 hours counseling via internet (e-mail) or telephone

o       2 hours per component

o       Live supervision of skillstreaming, anger control training and moral reasoning training may be agreed upon. If live supervision is impractical, then practitioner candidates must submit video recording of skillstreaming, anger control and moral reasoning training in the role of lead trainer for evaluation by the trainers in charge.

2. TRAINER

Trainers are individuals who have met the practitioner level standards and are able to disseminate ART protocols and procedures to individuals within their organization.

3. MASTER TRAINER

Master Trainers are individuals who have a minimum of two years experience with ART practice and also have familiarity with The Prepare Curriculum. They also would have to attend an ICART sponsored three-day Master Trainer Workshop that would evaluate their expertise regarding knowledge and facilitation.

4. SITE PROVISION

Sites that have been providing ART for a minimum of five years and have at least two Master Trainers are eligible for site provision of ART. Benefits include the ability to train similar organizations in ART protocol and procedures.  

Course Materials

·        Course book by Goldstein, A.P.  Glick, B.  & Gibbs, J.C. (1998). Aggression Replacement Training. Champaign, IL: Research Press

·        Goldstein, A.P. (1999) The Prepare Curriculum: Teaching Pro-Social Competencies. Champaign, IL: Research Press

·        Goldstein, A.P., & Martens, B.K. (2000) Lasting Change. Champaign, IL: Research Press 

·        Other course materials:

o       Use of relevant slides from Goldstein, A.P. Workshop Supplement. Champaign, IL: Research Press (two day workshop)

o       Age appropriate child/youth, parent teacher skill evaluation charts (McGinnis & Goldstein, 1991; McGinnis & Goldstein, 1999; Goldstein & McGinnis, 1997)

o       Examples of Skillstreaming handouts from all skills groups

o       CJAA instruction evaluation charts

Download Training Standards as PDF.