When we talk about The Mandt System de-escalation training program we will often describe it as a ‘person centered, trauma informed, positive behavior support approach’ to preventing conflict in the workplace. The response to this can be surprising. Many times a response can be … ‘Oh we don’t need a positive behavior support approach, we don’t work in education’, or ‘The individuals we serve don’t have trauma histories so we won’t need that part’.
What is interesting about these responses is that they illustrate how people often see ‘Positive Behavior Support’ and ‘Trauma’ as factors that are only related to certain groups or sectors and not present in the broader human condition. Our reply to this statement is often to ask if they have considered that their staff may have a trauma history or benefit from a Positive Behavior Support approach to aid them in shaping their responses to individuals or situations that challenge?
The good news is that increasingly, organizations are recognizing the importance and value in adopting this approach to create a more supportive and holistic workforce that understands that care of each other and self-care have to be part of our service models. There is an expression we use in the Mandt System Training Program, that ‘you can only give from what you have’, so if you have never received love, affection, support and consideration in your life then how can you provide that to others?
A sobering thought?
Simon Kemp – CEO
