Those that provide services to special needs people often find themselves between a rock and a hard place.

What the individual wants is often at odds with what the organization can provide. Or the speed at which the organization can render services. These problems are often exacerbated by mental illness, socio-economic/ ethnic differences and age.

While it is not the job of service providers to handle a conflict, often staff is outside the range of immediate help when a situation develops. This training provides methods to prevent conflict, de-escalate it or slow the process until help can arrive.

Conflict Prevention and Management
Before we can deescalate someone else, we must first deescalate ourselves. In order to do that we must understand that we are, by nature, programmed to follow social primate conflict 'scripts' when we get excited. What's more is when we are following these scripts, we convince ourselves that we're being rational and reasonable, when we are not. Understanding this is the first step in actually remaining calm, mentally flexible and resolving a situation so everyone is satisfied and can return to work.
This course teaches staff such useful concepts as  primate conflict behaviors, conflict scripts, recognizing when someone is in their monkey brain (and when you're slipping into it too), strategies that will prevent conflict and those that will escalate or prolong it, the importance of 'completing scripts,' de-escalation and establishing a functioning win/win situation.

Cross cultural communications
Many cultural diversity classes are just lists of cultural taboos to be memorized or attempts to browbeat the students into acknowledging the vast diversity of the world or even the local community.  
At Conflict Communications, we teach a different approach, working from the common ground.  Respect is universal, and so are certain ways of showing it. Sincerity is always respected.  By learning what to watch for, what and how to ask questions and how to gauge your reception, our Cross Cultural Communications program can help you not only deal with known cultural differences, but interact with cultures that you are unfamiliar with.  The concepts even apply to crisis communications with the mentally ill or emotionally disturbed.

Intuition and Articulation
How did you know the person was going to do what he or she did? And know it before the person committed the act? Was it because of some psychic ability? Or was it because you unconsciously noticed certain behaviors, factors and 'tells' that indicated the person's intent? Unfortunately, no matter how obvious what the person was up to at the moment, in court the opposing attorney is make it sound like you overreacted.
That is unless you can articulate the facts, actions and signals that lead you to a reasonable conclusion that you based your actions on. The ability to observe and articulate these unconscious and subtle signs is critical for your ability to defend your actions. It is also extremely important  for indemnification of yourself and your organization. Internally, this allows you to articulate to management that you were following policy.