Lifelines in the Dark shows you how to communicate with your relative when (s)he is experiencing acute symptoms of mental illness. The author gives you a "skill map," a range of communication tactics that cover many symptoms, such as the presence of paranoia, mania, hallucinations, delusions, and other manifestations of the illness. With this expert guidance, you will learn to reach out to the person behind the illness. "Words do not cure severe psychiatric illness," says author Amdur, "but we can choose to speak to the illness or speak to the person who is ill. And when we do the latter, like a lifeline thrown in the dark to someone in a stormy sea, they have something to hold onto so that they are not overwhelmed by the waves."

Lifelines in the Dark: Communication Strategies

Ellis Amdur

OPA Publishing

Grace Under Fire

Stand & Live Inc.

Hidden in Plain Sight: Tracing the Roots of Ueshiba Morihei's Power

Edgework: Crisis Intervention Resources PLLC

Individuals suffering from psychiatric or substance use disorders sometimes display any one of a number of frightening behaviors: verbal outbursts, physical threats and even violence. In this comprehensive guidebook, Ellis Amdur walks professionals working in inpatient and residential settings through a multitude of steps they can take to keep themselves, their colleagues, and their clientele safe. Amdur covers a wide array of topics, intent on sharing his expertise with staff in executive, management, and front line positions alike. Amdur s focus is based on behavior rather than diagnosis. The first sections of the book discuss specific behaviors ranging from such relatively minor irritants as reluctance to complete tasks and obsessive concerns to more troubling, pervasive syndromes such as psychosis, mania and disorganization. In one very important section, he discusses interactions with anti-social and psychopathic individuals, people who present danger to the psychological and physical well being of both staff and patients. In the second major section of the book, he focuses on us: what we can do to achieve a state of integrity and powerful calm. Rather than abstract pronouncements, he offers specific strategies, including a method of breathing that is for the purpose of maintaining one s center in crisis situations. He then moves on to direct face-to-face encounters. This includes how to handle tense situations before they deteriorate into chaos, and how to de-escalate once a crisis is in play. Amdur elucidates the various motivations that drive aggression and further delineates the different types of aggression that result. De-escalation tactics are specific one learns how to instantly recognize what mode of aggression the person is in, and then, well-trained and practiced, one can almost instantaneously shift into the correct de-escalation tactic that fits the aggression one is facing. The final sections of the book offer a macro-view: how to establish and maintain a culture of safety within the hospital or residential setting. The likelihood that one will have to use de-escalation skills or other self-protective strategies is far diminished when such a culture of safety is in place.

Safe Haven: Skills to Calm and De-escalate Aggressive and Mentally Ill Individuals (for Professionals in Inpatient Settings)

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Mental Health

Edgework Books

Individuals suffering from psychiatric or substance use disorders sometimes display any one of a number of frightening behaviors: verbal outbursts, physical threats and even violence. In this comprehensive guidebook, Ellis Amdur walks professionals working in healthcare and social services settings through a multitude of steps they can take to keep themselves, their colleagues, and their clientele safe. Amdur covers a wide array of topics, intent on sharing his expertise with staff in executive, management, and front line positions alike. Amdur's focus is based on behavior rather than diagnosis. The first sections of the book discuss specific behaviors ranging from such relatively minor irritants as reluctance to complete tasks and obsessive concerns to more troubling, pervasive syndromes such as psychosis, mania and disorganization. In one very important section, he discusses interactions with anti-social and psychopathic individuals, people who present danger to the psychological and physical well being of both staff and clients. In the second major section of the book, he focuses on us: what we can do to achieve a state of integrity and powerful calm. Rather than abstract pronouncements, he offers specific strategies, including a method of breathing that is for the purpose of maintaining one's center in crisis situations. He then moves on to direct face-to-face encounters, covering situations that may occur within a clinic or office, as well as out in the community, be it someone's residence, on the street, or even in one's car. This includes how to handle tense situations before they deteriorate into chaos, and how to de-escalate once a crisis is in play. Amdur elucidates the various motivations that drive aggression and further delineates the different types of aggression that result. De-escalation tactics are specific - one learns how to instantly recognize what mode of aggression the person is in, and then, well-trained and practiced, one can almost instantaneously shift into the correct de-escalation tactic that fits the aggression one is facing. This book also includes sections specific to dealing with individuals who are suicidal or who engage in parasuicidal acts, as well as specific de-escalation strategies to deal with aggressive youth. The final sections of the book offer a macro-view: how to establish and maintain a culture of safety within both your agency and your personal life. The likelihood that one will have to use de-escalation skills or other self-protective strategies is far diminished when such a culture of safety is in place.

Grace Under Fire: Skills to Calm and De-escalate Aggressive & Mentally Ill Individuals (For Those in Social Services or Helping Professions)

Individuals suffering from psychiatric or substance use disorders sometimes display any one of a number of frightening behaviors: verbal outbursts, physical threats and even violence. In this comprehensive guidebook, Ellis Amdur walks families through a multitude of strategies they can use to keep themselves, and their mentally ill family member safe. Amdur s focus is based on behavior rather than diagnosis. The first sections of the book discuss specific behaviors ranging from such relatively minor irritants as reluctance to complete tasks and obsessive concerns to more troubling, pervasive syndromes such as psychosis, mania and disorganization. In one very important section, he discusses interactions with manipulative individuals, people who present danger to the psychological and physical well being of everyone in your family. In the second major section of the book, he focuses on us: what we can do to achieve a state of integrity and powerful calm. Rather than abstract pronouncements, he offers specific strategies, including a method of breathing that is for the purpose of maintaining one s center in crisis situations. He then moves on to direct face-to-face encounters, covering situations that can occur anywhere: in the community, at your residence, on the street, or even your car. Instruction includes how to handle tense situations before they deteriorate into chaos, and how to manage a crisis once it has started, whether it concerns an adult or a young person. He instructs you on how to instantly recognize what mode of aggression the person is in, and then, well-trained and practiced, how to almost instantaneously shift into the correct de- escalation tactic that fits the aggression one is facing.

In the Eye of the Hurricane: Skills to Calm and De-escalate Aggressive Mentally Ill Family Members

Parole and probation officers must deal with individuals suffering from psychiatric or substance abuse disorders on a frequent basis. Ellis Amdur and Alan Pelton offer parole and probation officers a comprehensive set of strategies to keep themselves as well as the general public safe, while functioning at the highest level of professionalism. The first section of this book offers an overview of the role of community corrections in dealing with the mentally ill and/or substance abusing offender. The second section is tactical: everything from field safety and tactical planning on one side, to honing your intuition to pick up early signs of danger on the other. In the third section of the book, the authors focus on us: what we can do to achieve a state of integrity and powerful calm. Rather than abstract pronouncements, they offer specific strategies, including a method of breathing for the purpose of maintaining one's own center in crisis situations. They then discuss specific behaviors ranging from confusion and obsessive concerns to psychosis, mania and acute disorganization. In one very important section, they discuss interactions with manipulative individuals (at worst, those referred to as psychopaths), people who present a danger to the psychological and physical well-being of anyone with whom they come in contact. They then move on to a discussion of aggression, whether directed at the parole or probation officer or others. There is a specific section set aside on dealing with aggressive youthful offenders. Amdur and Pelton discuss how to de-escalate aggressive and chaotic individuals once a crisis is in play. De-escalation tactics are specific - one learns how to immediately recognize what mode of aggression the person is displaying, and then, one can effectively implement the de-escalation tactics that are best suited to deal with the aggression one is facing.

From Chaos to Compliance: Communication, Control, and De-escalation of Mentally Ill & Aggressive Offenders - A Comprehensive Guidebook for Parole and Probation Officers

Alan Pelton

Cooling the Flames: De-escalation of Mentally Ill & Aggressive Patients - A Comprehensive Guidebookfor Firefighters and EMS

Crisis negotiation is one of the most remarkable areas of law enforcement. Through a combination of tactical communication, empathic connection and, at times, subterfuge, negotiators persuade desperate, suicidal or homicidal individuals, often intoxicated or mentally ill, to relinquish their position of power and submit to police authority. In this book, the reader will find thirty different training scenarios that cover the gamut of mental illness and personality disorders, as well as common situations that lead otherwise ordinary people into desperation. Most of them are based on cases that one or the other of the authors have actually encountered. There are full instructions on how to set up the scenario, and how to brief the role player so that he or she plays it true-to-life. The scenarios are colorful, unpredictable, and multi-layered, and require active involvement of the secondary negotiator and the rest of the team for intelligence gathering. Just as a real situation can change radically when new information is acquired, most of the scenarios will have unexpected twists that require the negotiators to think on their feet, and sometimes diametrically change directions. Many include SWAT, and some are specifically crafted so that tactical officers can practice various skills during the scenarios, such as food deliveries, release of an injured hostage, delivery of the throw phone, or documents the subject has demanded. They can plant listening devices, or attempt to get a visual on the scene. Team leaders can program the negotiation exercise for 'failure,' something that neither SWAT nor the negotiators will be informed. When it is suddenly time to go, they must be ready to tactically respond. Although it is an educational read for anyone involved in crisis intervention - far beyond police work - it is written as a resource book for HNT/CNT teams.

Shapeshifting for Law Enforcement CNT/HNT: Effective Scenario Training for Crisis/Hostage Negotiation Teams

Lisabeth Eddy

Safe Haven

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Books by Ellis Amdur