Professional Crisis Management Training

PCM Overview

• Professional Crisis Management Association (PCMA) focuses on training and certification in crisis management.
• PCM system is specifically designed for crisis management rather than treatment.

Core Strategies and Interventions

• Four key strategies:
  • Crisis Prevention Strategies
  • Crisis De-escalation Strategies
  • Crisis Intervention Procedures
  • Post-crisis strategies

Crisis Prevention Strategies

• Aims to enhance positive feelings, encourage productive behaviors, promote rational thinking, and ensure relaxed physiology.

Crisis De-escalation Strategies

• Focuses on addressing disruptive, aggressive, or self-injurious noncontinuous behaviors effectively.

Crisis Intervention Procedures

• Involves physical management techniques for continuous behaviors that are aggressive or self-injurious.

Post-crisis Strategies

• Centers on reintegrating individuals back into treatment and educational settings after a crisis event.

Certification Scope

• Basic Practitioner: Authorized for all nonphysical strategies.
• Practitioner: Includes personal safety and transportation procedures.
• Practitioner 1: Adds vertical immobilization to the previous permissions.
• Practitioner 2 (P): Expands to include prone immobilization alongside prior authorizations.

Recertification

• Requires a 7-hour course within a 90-day grace period prior to the annual certification date.

Crisis Behavior Criteria

• Crisis defined by continuous aggression, self-injury, or high magnitude disruption.
• CASH acronym summarizes these behaviors: Continuous, Aggression, Self-injury, High magnitude disruption.

Transportation Procedures

• Implement only in the presence of crisis behaviors, avoiding use for noncontinuous or low-intensity behaviors.

Guiding Principles

• Four core principles guide PCM practices:
  • Respect for human dignity and freedom from pain.
  • Freedom of choice.
  • Least restrictive alternative must be sought.
  • Continuous feedback is necessary for effective management.

Observation Techniques

• Scanning involves a complete view of the treatment group, performed every 20 seconds.
• Tracking entails brief observation of an individual within the group, also executed approximately every 20 seconds.

Peeling Technique

• A method for safely releasing holds or grips during crisis intervention.

Emphasis on Prevention

• A strong focus on prevention minimizes the emergence of precrisis and crisis behaviors, reducing the need for intrusive interventions.

Setting Characteristics Impact

• The relationship between environment and behavior can stabilize or drastically reduce crisis behaviors, highlighting the importance of context in crisis management.