Hannah Thomas, Director of Professional Learning

“All behaviour is a form of communication. Distress behaviour can be how a person communicates their distress.”

CPI Verbal Intervention Training, Crisis Prevention Institute

This week’s Cranbrook Teachers Talking Teaching session focused on strategies for de-escalating distress behaviours that may be exhibited during a crisis moment, using a person-centred and trauma-informed response.

Thank you to Peter Young and Lloyd Owusu for sharing key takeaways and strategies from the CPI Verbal Intervention Training course with Cranbrook teachers. The presentation emphasised that every student has their own story – the “precipitating factors” that influence behaviour, and that “challenging” behaviour is often the result of distress. When teachers respond in a supportive manner, they can strengthen trust even during a moment of conflict.

One key takeaway from the session was the need to control what we can control – namely, our own behaviour. It is vital that teachers maintain a calm demeanour to de-escalate the behaviour of a person in a crisis moment, and the session outlined a range of verbal and non-verbal supportive communication strategies to assist with this. For example, in the “Supportive Stance”, the teacher stands to the side and at an angle from the person in distress, rather than face-to-face, demonstrating respect for personal space and appearing unconfrontational.

Overall, this was an empowering session that reinforced the positive impact of being respectful, empathetic and compassionate in all interactions.

Hannah Thomas
Director of Professional Learning