PATHs
Promoting Alternative Thinking strategies
(PATHS) is a school-based program designed to improve children’s ability to
discuss and understand emotions.
It addresses the following goals:
- Increased self-control, i.e., the ability to stop
- and think before acting when upset or confronted with a conflict situation. Lessons in this area also teach identification of problem situations through recognition of “upset” feelings.
- Attributional processes that lead to an appropriate sense of self-responsibility.
- Increased understanding and use of the vocabulary of logical reasoning and problem-solving, e.g., “if…then” and “why…because.”
- Increased understanding and use of the vocabulary of emotions and emotional states; e.g., excited, disappointed, confused, guilty, etc. Increased use of verbal mediation.
- Increased ability to recognise and interpret similarities and differences in the feelings, reactions and points of view of ourselves and others.
- Increased understanding of how our own behaviour affects others.