Handle With Care’s physical training expands on the verbal program and integrates a physical component that teaches staff how to manage critical events through teamwork, and interventions designed to ensure confidence, safety and maintain the dignity and therapeutic relationship between staff and consumer.

Handle With Care Physical Skills Training can be divided into 5 main components:

• Understanding personal space
• Self Defense and Defense of Others (aka third person saves)
• Physical restraint
• Escort/Transport
• Specialized & optional intervention

HWC’s Personal Defense System

HWC’s personal defense system was engineered to meet the following design criteria:

All of the personal defense techniques were designed to be effective and non-injurious.

• All of the personal defense techniques must interface with the Primary Restraint Technique (PRT).  Staff have a choice to either disengage themselves or another or to transition from personal defense into a physical hold.
• All of the personal defense techniques must work effectively in what we call “3rd person save” situations.  A responsible direct care worker must be able to respond to an assault on someone other than herself.

Physical Restraint & The Primary Restraint Technique (PRT)

HWC’s physical program was designed as an appropriate, natural and sometimes necessary extension of the therapeutic relationship.

Primary Restraint Technique

The PRT The PRT is an easy to teach, orthopedically sound physical hold that offers unprecedented mechanical advantage without pain or injury.  The PRT is a powerful standing hold first and foremost and there is not a more mechanically effective standing hold anywhere within the realm of passive and benign restraint.  HWC’s PRT standing hold and the PRT seated hold are available to staff for those clients and situations that can be safely managed from a standing or seated position.  We also offer restraint options that are based on the PRT, including techniques suitable for children and adults with special orthopedic, medical and physical conditions (including pregnancy).  HWC’s physical program includes a special proprietary seated hold for use with smaller children as young as three, non-violent personal defense, team restraint and a proprietary collection of intervention strategies including 3rd person saves and breaking up fights that are adapted to each agency’s mission and policies.  We also offer a proprietary supine (face-up) holding method.

The PRT in the Neutral (prone) position is the only facedown holding method that has always had a built-in safeguard, the Tripod Modification, to prevent chest compression or the possibility of positional asphyxiation.  Our first product, the PRT Tripod Stand, was developed specifically for agencies that are unable to terminate floor restraints quickly because of the consumers they serve or because they do not use mechanical restraints.

Team Restraint

A team approach is always the best approach.  We believe that the use of single person restraint methods, even one as effective as the PRT, should be limited to emergencies when there are no other options.  Our two and four person team restraint components are engineered around the PRT in a way that eliminates confusion and chaos.  Based on the number of staff that can normally respond to a crisis at your agency, we customize a two or four person team deployment system with tactical adjustments for a wide range of behaviors and situations.

If you use locked or unlocked seclusion (time out or quiet room) or mechanical restraints we will teach you our methods of application and make solid recommendations regarding their use.

Instructor Certification Program

Handle With Care Instructor Certification Program allows the facility to have a certified Handle With Care trainer on staff that is capable to training the rest of its staff in Handle With Care’s Verbal Program and Basic Physical program.  On days one and two, participants learn how to do Handle With Care. During the Instructor portion of the program, participants learn how to teach Handle With Care.

Your program will be conducted by a Handle With Care Master Instructor.  They are the best professional trainers in the country, selected from the thousands of agency instructors that Bruce has personally certified over the last 15 years.  They were carefully chosen on the basis of field experience, teaching ability and personal reputation in their respective field of human services.  This depth of experience ensures that your Instructor Certification Program will adapt to the specific needs of your agency, the kinds of clients you serve and types of challenges they present to your staff.

Handle With Care’s Instructor Certification Program contains a well defined lead and co-trainer teaching protocol that maintains an orderly and safe training environment.  Handle With Care training incorporates training techniques designed to maximize adult learning.  We use and train teaching techniques like verbal counts, repetition, discussion, and guided movement methods to promote confidence, motivation, retention and the transference of information.  After completing the course Instructors will be able to demonstrate and teach HWC’s program, answer questions, maintain a safe training environment, and tailor HWC’s program to meet the needs of your facility.

Customized training

If you are dealing with a specialized population, contact us.  We can customize training content and training length to accommodate your facility’s needs and schedule.

Materials

There is a supporting Handle With Care Participant’s Manual, Instructor’s Manual, Power Point and Video that comes with this training.  All Handle With Care clients, facilities, participants and instructors have unlimited access to phone and online technical support.