What is Verbal De-escalation Training?
A. Verbal de-escalation is the use of communication techniques designed to prevent or calm down a potentially volatile situation.
Who can benefit from Verbal De-escalation Training?
A. Everyone! Verbal de-escalation training is valuable for nearly everyone because it teaches people how to defuse potentially volatile situations in a way that reduces the likelihood of conflict, injury, and negative outcomes. Whether in professional or personal settings, knowing how to communicate effectively under stress has broad benefit.
Why HWC’s Verbal De-escalation Program?
Enhances Safety. Clients test the emotional solidity of the people (i.e. staff) around them by attempting to activate a response. HWC teaches staff how to recognize the purpose of the ‘test’ and appeal to the healthy components of the client’s personality, which seeks stability or homeostasis, to form an alliance. By defusing tense situations before they escalate into physical confrontations, verbal de-escalation can reduce the risk of harm to the individual involved and others.
Improves Communication Skills. HWC’s Verbal De-escalation Program takes a relationship-centered approach and teaches staff how to behave in a manner that provides clients with the emotional and environmental support needed to convey trust, security and safety. HWC training helps staff recognize the signs of escalating emotions in themselves and others. This in turn enables them to manage their own emotions while intervening earlier and more effectively. HWC’s verbal de-escalation program improves communication by teaching staff how to handle emotional or stressful situations without being triggered or reacting impulsively.
HWC’s Tension/Tension Reduction Cycle (T/TRC) and Solid Object Relationship Model (SORM). HWC’s verbal program provides theoretical and visual models that illustrate the dynamics of escalating and de-escalating tension. HWC’s theoretical models show staff how to calmly navigate high-stress situations in a calm, structured and thoughtful way. The models can be thought of as an instruction handbook for the de-escalation tools staff learn in HWC’s program.
T/TRC and Situational Awareness: The T/TRC model enables staff to identify when tension is rising so they can intervene early and apply appropriate verbal strategies to de-escalate the situation before it becomes unmanageable.
SORM and Maintaining Emotional Stability: The SORM model provides tools and teaches staff how to remain emotionally grounded and stable. It illustrates how, by staying calm and affect-neutral, staff can prevent further escalation, and provide an “anchor” / support to the person in crisis to assist them in regaining control.
Adaptability: Both the T/TRC and the SORM provide staff with the flexibility to adjust their approach. Situations are dynamic, not static. HWC’s program teaches staff how to adjust their approach based on the person’s behavioral state. As tension rises more assertive interventions like limit setting may be necessary, while a decrease in tension would call for a more supportive, empowering approach. The ability of staff to adapt to the dynamics of the situation in real time is the hallmark of successful verbal de-escalation.
Inclusiveness & Diversity: At HWC diversity and inclusivity is embraced, celebrated and promoted in our training. The attitudes and behaviors we promote when working in diverse cultures include the following: respect, acceptance, sensitivity, commitment to equality, openness, humility, and flexibility.
Trauma Informed: The main goal of HWC is to create and maintain safer, more caring environments. The critical questions every client wants to know, “am I safe, do you care, will you help me, can I trust you”? HWC’s Solid Object Relationship Model (SORM) teaches that the most effective way to de-escalate a situation is to be the person the client can trust and feel safe with. Traumatized clients must learn that emotionally charged situations do not end in being abused, and that they can trust staff to protect them from the emotional and physical consequences of their and others behavior. HWC Training Program contains the recognized core principles of a trauma-informed approach to care and intervention namely: safety, trustworthiness, collaboration, empowerment and responsiveness.
Neurodiverse: HWC’s program is easily adaptable to the spectrum of neuro diverse clients across the spectrum of human services, workplaces and customer service environments.
Empowerment and Autonomy: Verbal de-escalation isn’t just about calming someone down in the moment. In many situations it is a teaching moment where staff can lend the person (or child) in crisis the tools and support they need to regain control while simultaneously assisting them in developing the emotional regulation skills necessary to manage their own behavior in the future. It is this combination of theory, philosophy and practice that makes HWC’s program so effective, accessible and empowering.