Crisis De-escalation: A Mental Health Professional's Guide for Managing Conflict

This book evolved out of 15 years of doing trainings for individuals struggling with out-of-control people. I worked for decades in community behavioral healthcare, and was certified in two different systems for managing acting out behavior that could range from mild verbal aggression to physical assault. Over the years, I dug down deeper into the research, and also gathered on the experience and expertise of the many dedicated people I worked with. This book is meant to be helpful for anyone ranging from a flight attendant trying to artfully manage an intoxicated passenger, to a librarian struggling with a mentally ill person seeking shelter in the stacks, to a healthcare worker with a disgruntled and disoriented patient. The goal is staying as calm as possible (of course easier said than done) and emerging with a feeling of a win/win situation. Seldom easy, and sometimes not possible, but for an individual who masters the presented skills, they can know they used evidence-based practices to make the best of a bad situation.