VERBAL DEESCALATION H O W T O I D E N T I F Y A N D D E - E S C A L AT E A N A G I TAT E D P E R S O N W H I L E K E E P I N G YOURSELF SAFE. Crossing the Line into Crisis Situations It is important to develop strategies for ensuring personal safety in potentially problem situations. In any conflict, you have a choice. Escalate the incident
further De-escalate the situation. How do you manage conflict? Personal strategy for managing conflict Is learned in childhood Functions automatically Defaults to doing what comes naturally Your safety may depend on your conflict management style. YOUR PERSONAL CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLE ACTIVITY 1. Access the University of Minnesotas
Department of Family Social Science website: 2. Take the Conflict Management Styles Assessment. There are no right or wrong answers. The purpose of the assessment is to identify your default management style. (15 questions) http://www.cehd.umn.edu/fsos/projects/ruralm nlife/conflict.asp UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTAS DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY SOCIAL SCIENCE WEBPAGE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLE INTERPRETATION 3. After completing the Conflict Management
Style Assessment, please wait until everyone is finished. 4. As a group, we will watch and listen to Professor Sharon M. Danes explain how to interpret your results. This assessment is a research experiment from the University of Minnesotas Department of Family Social WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT YOUR DEFAULT MANAGEMENT STYLE? Imagine an angry parent begins to verbally assault you during a home visit. How would your default management style help or hinder this tense situation? Turn and discuss with a partner.
Accommodating Avoiding Conflict Management Style Collaborating Competing WHAT ARE THE STAGES OF ESCALATION? Non-Crisis Thinking: Logical Abstract
Reasonable Aggression can be unpredictable. A person may quickly move from slightly agitated to full scale aggression. Identification of escalations early stages will help you to respond Crisis effectively. Thinking: Illogical
Concrete Unfocused 7 STAGES OF BEHAVIOR ESCALATION 1. Calm Person relatively calm / cooperative. 2. Trigger - Person experiences unresolved conflicts . This triggers the persons behavior to escalate. 3. Agitation Person increasingly unfocused / upset. 4. Acceleration - Conflict remains unresolved. Person FOCUSES on the conflict. 5. Peak - Person out of control / exhibits severe behavior. 6. De-escalation Vents in the peak stage, person
displays confusion. Severity of peak behavior subsides. 7. Recovery - Person displays willingness to participate in activities. TRAITS AND FACTORS THAT MAY TRIGGER AGGRESSION Psychiatric illness Substance abuse Prior history of violence Highly stressful situations
Certain feelings powerlessness Fear Grief feeling of injustice Boredom
humiliation Removal of children Access to weapons Involvement with DCS Physical disability Court proceedings or chronic pain Compliance with services Personal history of Termination of child abuse parental North Carolina Division of Socialrights
Services and the Family and Children Resource Program: Children's Services Practice Notes, vol. 3, 1998. Ages 15-40, esp. COMMON SIGNS OF AGITATION -Raised voice -High-pitched voice -Rapid speech -Pacing -Excessive sweating -Balled fists -Excessive hand gestures -Erratic movements
-Fidgeting -Aggressive posture -Shaking - Verbally WHAT IS VERBAL DEESCALATION? Verbal De-Escalation is an intervention for use with people who are at risk for aggression. It is basically using calm language, along with other communication techniques, to diffuse, re-direct, or de-escalate a conflict situation. Mary M. Kerr & C.M. Nelson: Strategies for Addressing Behavior Problems in the Classroom, 2010.
PHYSICAL FORCE IN DEESCALATION Without specialized training, never consider the use of physical force as your first Physical force is a last response. resort to prevent injury to yourself or to another person. Use of physical force usually results in someone (you?) getting hurt.
3 ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATION Body language Tone Word choice Which has the most influence? BODY LANGUAGE 55% OF COMMUNICATION IS NON-VERBAL What is her body language saying? WHAT MESSAGE ARE THEY
COMMUNICATING? BODY LANGUAGE CAN ESCALATE TENSION Match the body language to its message. 1. Shoulder shrugging 2. Jaw set with clenched teeth 3. Finger pointing 4. A fake smile 5. Excessive gesturing, pacing, fidgeting, or weight shifting 6. Touching,
when Also avoid: even Turning your culturally appropriate A. B. C. D. E. Mocking or uncaring Accusing or threatening Anxiety
Hostility or threatening Not open- minded or listening F. Uncaring or unknowing back Quick actions Aggressive postures Try to look as non-threatening as possible. Appear calm and selfassured even if you dont feel it. Maintain limited eye contact.
Maintain a neutral facial expression. Place your hands in front of your body in an open and relaxed position. Be at the same eye level. Encourage the client to be seated, but if he/she needs to stand, stand up also. WHICH POSITION IS LESS AGGRESSIVE? WHY? Best stance at an angle, feet hips width apart, one foot in front
Greater balance and mobility Exposes less of the body as a target Stay far enough away that the other person cannot hit, kick or grab you. Do not approach a client head-on or from the back. Approaching at an angle is perceived as less confrontational. Never turn your back during a hostile situation. University of Iowa School of Social Work: Committed to Excellence Through Supervision, 2009. Dont Stand So Close to Me Wheres your comfort zone? 1. Divide group into two lines. Allow approximately
5 feet of empty space between the rows. 2. Each person should be facing a partner. 3. Ask one line to remain stationary while the other line gradually steps forward toward their partners. 4. Ask the stationary line to put out their hands in a stop gesture when they feel their personal How did feel during this activity? space is you invaded. How can this information help you during deescalation? Stand by Me or Stand
Back? Four Personal Spaces Edward Hall, American anthropologist Hidden Dimension, 1966. Intimate space - interacting with friends, significant people / hand-shaking, whispering, etc. -- touch to 1.5 feet Casual space - interacting with close friends1.5 feet to 4 feet Social space - interacting
with acquaintances4 feet to 12Experiment feet CBS video - The Personal Space Public space - interacting http with anonymous people further than 12 feet ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWl5EA6xfgI DONT FENCE ME IN Violence-prone individuals perceive the need for a wider territorial space in order to feel comfortable 5 times the normal
physical space. ITS NOT WHAT YOU SAY, BUT HOW YOU SAY IT. Tone expresses speakers feelings or attitudes. Listener interprets speakers message through tone. 38% of communication depends on tone Try it! Say the following sentence with different tones. You 1. in a suspicious tone made2.itin a happy tone here on 3. in a patronizing tone time!
4. in an irritable tone Its not just what you say but how you say it. Tone Stern = confidence, possibly aggression. Timid/wavering = fear, lack of self-assurance Lowered = uncertainty Raised = anger, agitation Volume -- Loud, overpowering = authority, unwillingness to hear others Soft, unassuming = docility, possibly fear Rate of speech Slow but rhythmic rate = soothing Controlled - both calm and firm promote
confidence Politeness Be respectful. No name calling. Please and thank-you -- Mr. or Ms. HANDLE THEM CAREFULLY, FOR WORDS HAVE MORE POWER THAN ATOM BOMBS. PEARL STRACHAN, BRITISH POLITICIAN, 1930. Do not get loud or yell over a screaming person. Wait until he/she takes a breath, speaking calmly at normal volume. Respond simply. Repeat if necessary. Answer informational questions, no matter how rudely asked.
Why do I fill out these forms? This is a real information-seeking question. Do not answer abusive questions. Why are all DCS employees such ? Help client talk out angry feelings rather than act on them. VERBAL DEESCALATION TIPS Do not be defensive even if comments, curses, or insults are directed at you. They are not about you. Be honest. Lying to calm someone down may lead to future escalation if the dishonesty if discovered. If possible, wait to convey further upsetting news.
Explain limits and rules in an authoritative, firm, but respectful tone. Give choices, where possible, in which both alternatives are safe ones. Would you like to continue our meeting calmly, or would you prefer to stop now and continue tomorrow? VERBAL DEESCALATION TIPS Be respectful when firmly setting limits or calling for help. The agitated individual is very sensitive to feeling shamed and disrespected. Utilize the core conditions at all times. Empathize with feelings but not with behavior. I understand that you have every right to feel angry, but it is not okay
for you to threaten me. Suggest alternative behaviors where appropriate. Would you like to take a break and have a cup of coffee or some water? THE FIRST AND ONLY DE-ESCALATION OBJECTIVE Reduce the level of anxiety to encourage the possibility for discussion. Reasoning with an enraged person is not possible.
TECHNIQUES THAT SHOW YOU ARE LISTENING 1. Minimal encouragers 2. Reflecting 3. Ask open-ended questions Can you tell me more about that. USE MINIMAL ENCOURAGERS 1. Brief nonverbal statements (positive head nodding) 2. Simple verbal responses - Okay - Uh-huh - I see
- I am listening Minimal encouragers demonstrate to the person that you are listening and paying attention, without stalling the Asheville, NC Law Enforcement Academy: Crisis Intervention Team Training ppt, 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2012 dialogue from http://naminc.org/nn/blet/bunc-de-escalation.ppt or creating an undue interruption. DEMONSTRATE REFLECTING Show evidence of active listening by repeating what the person has said. These statements should be brief. Do not interrupt the agitated person. Example: I am tired of everyone disrespecting me, and its making me angry.
Jim, you dont feel respected, and you are angry. ASK OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS allow you to get more information allow you to assess whether the situation is potentially dangerous to you allow you to assess whether the person is rational TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS If de-escalation is not working, STOP! If situation feels unsafe, LEAVE / CALL FOR
HELP! T.A.C.O.S. Donts Threaten Argue Challenge Order 5 De-escalation
