About this Online Workshop

This workshop provides essential skills for managing and diffusing crises, using effective verbal intervention, prevention, and de-escalation techniques. You will learn how current and/or past experiences of trauma, are often a part, or even at the heart of the dysregulation, triggers and reactivity that can lead to escalations. This workshop will help you recognize the earliest warning signs of escalating tension, as well as effective, trauma-informed verbal and non-verbal communication and limit setting strategies to defuse and de-escalate a variety of high-stress situations, wherever possible before they even arise. When escalation does happen, this workshop will prepare you to respond ethically, professionally and with confidence, using a team approach, that will help keep yourself, the person in crisis, and others in the environment safe.

NOTE: This is an interactive, virtual workshop, which is different from a webinar. Participants will be expected to participate through voice and video, and to engage with each other and the facilitator in large and small group discussions, to learn from each other and practice skill development.

Learning Objectives

• Recognize and prevent escalation by responding to early warning signs of potential challenges
  
• Understand how current and past traumas can impact reactivity, dysregulation, and behaviour in crisis situations
• Apply trauma-sensitive, ethical, respectful and clear limit setting and decision-making strategies in challenging situations
• Use effective verbal and non-verbal communication techniques, including active listening, validation, paraphrasing, use of positive and open facial expressions and body language to prevent, defuse and de-escalate conflicts
• Recognize and manage our own emotional reactions and triggers in high stress situations
• Maintain composed, calm and professional before, during and after a crisis
• Using a team approach to defuse and de-escalate crisis situations, as well as in maintaining a safe, supportive and respectful environment at all times

Who Should Attend?

• Any staff in a human, social, or community services organization
• First-line staff in a human, social or community service organization
• Supervisors and Managers in a human, social or community service organization

Format and Duration

Two Virtual Training Sessions of 3.5-hours per session – total of 7 hours.  8:30 AM – 12:00 PM