Hi Lee,
Thanks so much - yes I agree that forcing a conversation is not effective, but during these cnversations we are uncovering a lot of the trauma that hides beneath the behaviour. So it has has some success - although we are still in the early stages at the moment.
Getting staff buy-in is probably the most difficult part because, as you say, the old way is really stuck and some staff refuse to acknowledge that there is a better way. Our training is quite rigorous nowadays, but there are some staff members that have been around for many years, before the organisation had taken on a trauma-informed model of care - Sanctuary. However, we ar emaking headway in changing this mindset and our recruitment processes are now much more selective. Ongoing training is definitely the key. Time to offer that to my staff is a challenge, but the results are definitley worth the effort!
The 'Mandt' system you describe is virtually the same as TCI (Therapeutic Crisis Intervention) that we use here in Western Australia. We have been using TCI for about 6 years now and have found it to be veyr effective. It also works in harmony with the Sanctuary model which the organisation is adopting (still in the early stages). Because our department has seen many different models, programs and general changes, the staff are not fully committed to anything new.. But it's here to stay and they are beginning to see our work in a new light.
Thanks for the links you supplied, much appreciated. I iwll have a better look at these and hopefully be able to provide a clearer direction for my staff.
Cheers
:)