The Changing Behavior Book

“This excellent book, The Changing Behavior Book, taps into autonomy, one of the most powerful approaches for changing behaviors. Dr. Sutton’s approach clearly demonstrates how commitment actuates change more effectively than traditional approaches aiming at compliance. This is an OUTSTANDING read for anyone dealing with difficult and challenging young people.”

Marvin Marshall, EdD, author of Discipline without Stress(R) Punishments or Rewards and Parenting without Stress(R)

“Jim makes us aware of how intensely worried and frightened a “bad-acting” child might feel, bringing us to an awareness that not all negative behavior is due to negative intentions. Wouldn’t that change the way we intervene?

“The beauty of The Changing Behavior Book is that we really get two for one: Not only do we learn about causes of difficult behavior in children and how to help them change, we also learn how to change ourselves in ways that make us better professionals and parents.”

(from the book’s foreword)

Doug Riley, EdD, Psychologist, Yorktown, Virginia

best-selling author of The Defiant Child 

 “Dr. James Sutton was completing a presentation for counselors when I met him many years ago. It was as apparent then as now: Jim was finely tuned into helping difficult children. He has been one of my prized gurus in the field during my 25 years as a crisis counselor and, more recently, as a Forensic Interviewer of sexually abused children.

“The Changing Behavior Book is arguably Jim’s best work. His chapters are well organized and down-to-earth; they easily tap into childhood behaviors that are recogizable at so many levels. His strategies are well-supported and reflective of cutting-edge thinking in this challenging arena. He asks hard questions and provides warm, insightful strategies that can lead to changing behaviors on both sides of any human equation. Jim’s words challenge caregivers to review their perceptions as they address troubled young people. He examines common mistakes and offers wonderfully logical, accessible approaches that can empower difficult, even desperate, children. He then gently guides the parents and professionals who are trying to help.”

Max Swafford, Forensic Interviewer and Crisis Counselor

Author of The Crisis Manual and Children in Crisis: A Parent’s Guide

“Dr. Sutton is a deeply caring, greatly thoughtful and talented teacher of methods pertaining to challenging children.”

Howard Glasser, Executive Director, The Children’s Success Network

Author of Transforming the Difficult Child

“Dr. Sutton’s masterful work, The Changing Behavior Book, is an outstanding resource for any parent or professional dealing with challenging children or teens. It is packed with abundant, easy-to-grasp, highly relatable advice. This book will change countless lives for the better.”

Jeffrey Bernstein, PhD, Licensed Psychologist

Author, 10 Days to a Less Defiant Child

“Dr. Sutton’s The Changing Behavior Book: A Fresh Approach to the Difficult Child is a unique contribution to the universe of ideas on helping difficult children recover from being “difficult.” His ideas are based upon many years of clinical experience and solid research, all of which he has integrated into a thoroughly fresh approach to the oppositional and difficult child.

“I very much enjoyed reading this book, and will use many of Dr. Sutton’s ideas in my own clinical practice. I STRONGLY recommend this book to anyone concerned with the welfare of children.”

Kenneth Wenning, PhD, LCSW, Hamden Connecticut

Author of Winning Cooperation From Your Child

“The Changing Behavior Book is marvelous. Dr. Sutton has a deep and thorough understanding of children and has integrated the best from the fields of psychology, parenting, anger management, and peacemaking into an easy-to-read guidebook. It shows you how to transform your difficult children, not through mechanical behavior control techniques, but by truly treating them with respect, love, and wisdom.

“If you want to raise mature, resilient, and happy children, this book is a MUST read.”

Izzy Kalman, school psychologist and psychotherapist

Director of Bullies to Buddies, Inc., Staten Island, NY

Author, Bullies to Buddies; How to turn your enemies into friends

“Please let me recommend a new book I read on changing children’s behavior, The Changing Behavior Book: A Fresh Approach to the Difficult Childis by Dr. James Sutton. In his book, Dr. Sutton offers a realistic insight into all types of child or teen difficult behavior, whether the child is ADHD or not.

“What is even more enlightening about The Changing Behavior Book is the way in which Dr. Sutton describes practical and effective approaches to dealing with the difficult behaviors he discusses. Parents, teachers, counselors, and doctors will find his instruction easy to understand and implement, and they are likely to be successful in empowering difficult children to change their unwanted and annoying behaviors.

I believe every parent of an ADHD child should consider investing in this book. By using Dr. Sutton’s techniques, you will probably help your child control or even get rid of those irritating ADHD impulsive behaviors that might just prevent your child or teen from becoming a failure in life.”

Frank Barnhill, MD, Gaffney, South Carolina

Family physician and author of Mistaken for ADHD

“The Changing Behavior Book takes the reader on an informative and useful journey. It begins with the concept of Desperate Behavior. It’s a necessary behavior in that it is survival-based, an incredibly strong reaction to deeply inflicted hurt by people and circumstances.

“Dr. Sutton describes situations that he has personally and professionally experienced to illustrate many of the ideas to understand and empower youth to handle situations in appropriate ways. He then offers ’What Needs to be Done’ conclusions to each chaper to help the reader put into practice the ideas described.

“For me, the most influential aspect of this work were the ideas related to us, the adults, whether as a youngster’s parent, educator, counselor or therapist, in taking on the responsibility to change our patterns of behavior with difficult youth as a good part in empowering them to handle situations in positive ways.

“As someone involved in the field of anger management with youth, I found The Changing Behavior Book informative and useful.”

Dave Wolffe, educator and counselor

Author of Peace: The Other Side of Anger

 

“Dr. Sutton provides a new and innovative insight regarding positive improvement and real change in difficult to reach children. His systematic and supportive interventions are surperlative. In particular, the limit setting he shares in Chapter 11, and understanding and accepting feelings along with self-soothing interventions are requisite components of developing a flourishing family. Dr. Sutton’s thoughts far exceed “treatment as usual” and provide a transformative model for family well-being. This is a classic and stellar example of applied family psychology.”

Daniel Trussell, PhD, author of How Families Flourish