thanks artana
my conern with the explosive child approach is that it might not be good for kids who seem to thrive on "drama" and fear that if its a lot of talking about problems and issues with them, it might fuel them into being negative (does that make sense???).. my son, especially, seems to be the type of kid that you try not to engage too much when he's in a funk..but i could be way off on this because i am just imagining what the method is about.. off to my therapist appt.. will update!
irene