How to Coach Yourself and Others Coaching and Counseling in Difficult Circumstances | Page 22

This book is in B&W, not color - Print page in Grayscale for Correct view! What if the person becomes aggressive? People with psychosis are not usually aggressive and are at a much higher risk of harming themselves than others. However, certain symptoms of psychosis (e.g. delusions or hallucinations) can cause people to become aggressive. You should know how to de-escalate the situation if the person you are trying to help becomes aggressive. Take any threats or warnings seriously, particularly if the person believes they are being persecuted. If you are frightened, seek outside help immediately. You should never put yourself at risk. Similarly, if the person’s aggression escalates out of control at any time, you should remove yourself from the situation and call the crisis team. When contacting the appropriate mental health service, you should not assume the person is experiencing a psychotic episode but should rather outline any symptoms and immediate concerns. If the situation becomes unsafe, it may be necessary to involve the police. To assist the police in their response, you should tell them that you suspect the person is experiencing a psychotic episode and that you need their help to obtain medical treatment and to control the person’s aggressive behaviour. You should tell the police whether or not the person is armed. How to de-escalate the situation: • Do not respond in a hostile, disciplinary or challenging manner to the person; • Do not threaten them as this may increase fear or prompt aggressive behaviour; • Avoid raising your voice or talking too fast; • Stay calm and avoid nervous behaviour (e.g. shuffling your feet, fidgeting, making abrupt movements); • Do not to restrict the person’s movement (e.g. if he or she wants to pace up and down the room); • Remain aware that the person’s symptoms or fear causing their aggression might be exacerbated if you take certain steps (e.g. involve the police). About these guidelines Purpose of these guidelines These guidelines are designed to help members of the public to provide first aid to someone who may be experiencing psychosis. The role of the first aider is to assist the person until appropriate professional help is received or the crisis resolves. Development of these Guidelines The following guidelines are based on the expert opinions of a panel of mental health consumers, carers and clinicians from Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, the USA and Canada about how to help someone who may be experiencing a psychotic episode. Details of the methodology can be found in: Langlands RL, Jorm AF, Kelly CM, Kitchener BA. First aid recommendations for psychosis: Using the Delphi method to gain consensus between mental health consumers, carers and clinicians. Schizophrenia Bulletin 2008; 34:435-443 How to use these Guidelines These guidelines are a general set of recommendations about how you can help someone who may be experiencing psy chosis. Each individual is unique and it is important to tailor your support to that person’s needs. These recommendations therefore will not be appropriate for every person who may have psychosis. Also, the guidelines are designed to be suitable for providing first aid in developed English-speaking countries. They may not be suitable for other cultural groups or for countries with different health systems. For [email protected] Property of Bookemon, do NOT distribute 24