Revista Internacional de Saúde Mental e Psiquiatria

The Impact of Hand-on Training in the Implementation of Verbal De-Escalation Techniques to Manage Trauma Related Aggressive Behaviors in a Forensic Psychiatric Facility

Patrick Kabangu

In forensic psychiatric arena, nurses deal with agitated patients more frequently than any other healthcare providers. To equip nursing staff with self-efficacy to best manage aggressive behavior, the paper sought to present on the one hand the benefits of hands-on experience in a forensic psychiatric unit, and on the other the increase of nurses’ self-efficacy needed in the implementation of verbal de-escalation techniques. In a mixed analytic method, the paper interviewed 9 nurses to inquire about their pre-training and post-training confidence in dealing with agitated patients, and conducted a 10-question survey of concerned 9 (N=9) nurses. An intervention was performed to achieve nurses’ self-efficacy. It was determined that theoretical training coupled with on-site experience increased nurses’ self-efficacy in handling patient aggression and agitation, and that there was a higher understanding of de escalation techniques among nurses, with a decrease of agitation-related injuries in the unit.