Crisis Management
What is it?
When confronted with a family member or client who has lost control of their emotions or behavior, effective crisis management techniques can help you deescalate the situation while helping everyone involved stay safe.
Why does it matter?
Crisis Management offers ways for you to help others with respect and dignity. Using proper techniques and proven solutions can help family members or clients regain emotional and physical control without hurting themselves or others.
Practice strategies that work
The key to crisis management is to know that you can't control how others act or feel, but you can manage your response. Here are 10 Crisis Management Tips:
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Be Empathic and Nonjudgmental
Do not judge or be dismissive of the person's feelings in distress. Remember that their feelings are real, whether or not you think those feelings are justified. Respect those feelings. -
Respect Personal Space
Be aware of your position, posture, and proximity when interacting with someone in distress. Allowing personal space shows respect, keeps you safer and tends to decrease a person's anxiety. If you must enter someone's personal space to provide care, explain what you're doing so the person feels less confused and frightened. -
Use Nonthreatening Nonverbals
The more a person is in distress, the less likely they are to hear your words—and the more likely they are to react to nonverbal communication. Be mindful of your gestures, facial expressions, movements, and tone of voice. -
Keep Your Emotional Brain in Check
Remain calm, rational, and professional. While you can't control the person's behavior, how you respond to their behavior will directly affect whether the situation escalates or defuses. Positive thoughts like "I can handle this" and "I know what to do" will help you maintain your rationality and calm the person down. -
Focus on Feelings
Facts are essential, but how a person feels is the heart of the matter. However, some people have trouble identifying how they feel about what's happening to them. Watch and listen carefully for the person's real message. Try saying something like, "That must be scary." Supportive words like these let the person know that you understand what's happening—and you are more likely to get a positive response. -
Ignore Challenging Questions
Engaging with people who ask challenging questions is rarely productive. When a person challenges your authority, redirect their attention to the issue at hand. Ignore the challenge, but not the person. Bring their focus back to how you can work together to solve the problem. -
Set Limits
As a person progresses through a crisis, give them respectful, simple, and reasonable limits. Offer concise and respectful choices and consequences. A person who's upset may not be able to focus on everything you say. Be clear, concise, and offer the most favorable choice first. -
Choose What You Insist Upon Wisely
It's important to be thoughtful in deciding which rules are negotiable and which are not. For example, if a person doesn't want to shower in the morning, can you allow them to choose the time of day that feels best for them. If you can offer a person options and flexibility, you may be able to avoid unnecessary altercations. -
Allow Silence for Reflection
We've all experienced awkward silences. While it may seem counterintuitive to let moments of silence occur, sometimes it's the best choice. It can give a person a chance to reflect on what's happening and how they need to proceed. Silence can be a powerful communication tool. -
Allow Time for Decisions
When a person is upset, they may not think clearly. Give them a few moments to think through what you've said. A person's stress rises when they feel rushed. Allowing time brings calm.
Additional Resources
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Childsavers' Bob Nickles, LCSW, RPT walks you through this de-escalation technique for kids to use at home, in the classroom, or in public.
The Right Response offers tips, training, and a downloadable eBook.
Provides a bunch of resources on a variety of topics.
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Children in Crisis: De-Escalation Techniques
Raising an Extraordinary Person provides social-emotional learning resources, educational tools, and positive behavioral support for parents, educators, and clinicians.
This blog by the Texas Medical Liability Trust list several different methods and resources to help physicians respond to violent or aggressive behavior.
CPI's Top 10 De-Escalation Tips These Top 10 De-Escalation Tips will help you respond to difficult behavior in the safest, most effective way possible.
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A guide for communities on best practices for starting and sustaining Crisis Intervention Team Programs.
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Watch this excerpt from CPI's Preventive Techniques II DVD, featuring strategies and content from CPI's Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training.
Dr. Christian Conte, a renowned expert in anger management, shares how to de-escalate anyone out of control.
This New York Times video shows how the VA's suicide prevention hotline handles crisis calls.
In this video, you will learn strategies for de-escalating an argument at work.
ChildSavers' Bob Nickles, LCSW, walks us through a Mirror and Match technique to use at home, in the classroom, or in the store.
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(Listen with your kids) From the Calming Parenting Podcast this five minute listen gives one quick way to de-escalate a situation.
This episode of Black Canvas highlights potential strategies needed to find resolution in situations that can lead to anger.
Strategies for Youth explore the importance of de-escalation when interacting with people as a law-enforcement officer.
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Principle-Based De-escalation training, become a de-escalation presentation facilitator.
Holistic evidence-based training to reduce workplace violence.
A community-based program that brings together law enforcement, mental health professionals, mental health advocates (people living with mental illness and their families), and other partners to improve community responses to mental health crises.
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Frustration is a normal part of life, but it can overwhelm kids and bring up a lot of big feelings. You can help them to use the "Breathe, Think, Do" strategy to calm down, identify their feelings, and work to solve their problem.
- Get this app on the
Learn and practice CBT skills using video lessons which helps you to retain skills better.
- Get this app on the or the
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A community-based program that brings together law enforcement, mental health professionals, mental health advocates (people living with mental illness and their families), and other partners to improve community responses to mental health crises.
This article highlights Missoula's Mobile Crisis Response Unit.