Evidence-Based Practices

Evidence-Based Practices at Great Circle

Great Circle is committed to using evidence-based practices in all of our programs.  Here’s a list of many of them:

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA): Method that assists youth in developing language, self-help and play skills. ABA also can help decrease negative behaviors, such as aggression and self-injury, and other socially awkward behaviors. One of the most common methods used with individuals on the autism spectrum, ABA uses careful behavioral observation and positive reinforcement or prompting to teach each step of a desired positive behavior.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Therapy focuses on examining the relationships between thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Patients who received cognitive behavioral therapy were found to have significantly greater reductions in self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and symptoms of depression and anxiety, plus significantly greater improvements in self-esteem and problem-solving ability.

Computer Assisted Instruction: Technology use, to assist in the instructional process, may be individualized for each learner and allows for automatic adjustment of the difficulty level as the student answers questions correctly or incorrectly. This also allows for data to be tracked and analyzed as questions are answered and assessments are completed.

Cooperative Learning: Focus is on students working together to accomplish shared goals or tasks. Team members are responsible for learning what is taught and for helping teammates learn. Students work through assignments until all members understand and complete it successfully, creating a collective sense of achievement.

Co-Teaching: A special education teacher and general education teacher work together to provide instruction to students. The classroom includes both general and special education children, and the goal is to provide all students with access to the general education curriculum through a collaborative approach.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): An approach that helps people change behaviors that aren’t positive, such as self-harm, suicidal thinking and substance abuse. As a comprehensive treatment, DBT can decrease the frequency and severity of self-destructive behaviors, increase the motivation to change by providing positive reinforcement, teach new “coping skills” for that person’s natural environment, and provide an environment that emphasizes the strengths of both individuals and their treatments.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): This therapy helps an individual more effectively access and process of traumatic memories and adverse life experiences. During EMDR therapy, the client recalls a traumatic event for brief periods while simultaneously tracking an object with their eyes. EMDR therapy is proven to relieve stress, reduce agitation and change negative beliefs.

Family Group Decision Making (FGDM): Model that encourages families to plan decision-making and empowers them to resolve concerns in a safe environment. FGDM is proven to be successful with families with multiple challenges, including poverty, substance abuse, unemployment, health issues or criminal histories.

Healthy Families America (HFA): Home visiting model that works with overburdened families at risk for adverse childhood experiences, including child maltreatment.  It provides parental supports and education about appropriate child development to reduce risk factors for child abuse/neglect. HFA focuses on building confidence, reducing stress, and maximizing the joy of parenting so parents and children grow together.

Motivational Interviewing (MI): Goal-directed, client-centered counseling style that creates behavioral change by helping clients resolve negative motivations. MI has been used for more than 30 years, can be easily learned by a broad range of providers, and is complementary to other treatment methods.

Personalized Instruction: Educational environment in which the students’ what, when, where and how they learn is tailored to personal developmental needs, skills and interests. Students have goals and objectives that use diverse learning experiences matched to their individual needs.

Project-Based Learning: Use of real-world problems to increase student interest and promote analytical thinking that results in gaining and applying new knowledge. The teacher works with students to frame questions, structure tasks, coach knowledge and social skills, and assess what students have learned.

Positive Parenting Program (Triple P): Program uses social learning, cognitive behavioral and developmental theories to equip parents with the skills and confidence needed to be self-sufficient and navigate family issues without ongoing support. The focus is on developing positive relationships, attitudes and conduct.

 Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT): Approach used to improve several issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety or depressive symptoms, and trauma-related behavioral issues, especially in children who’ve experienced sexual abuse and other traumas. Clinical studies have shown TF-CBT also can help improve parenting skills, reduce shame, or enhance parent-child communication, attachment and a child’s adaptive functioning.