NCJ Number
103784
Journal
Indian Journal of Criminology Volume: 14 Issue: 2 Dated: (July 1986) Pages: 114-118
Date Published
1986
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This paper addresses security, administrative, and clinical issues in crisis intervention and long-term management of institutionalized violent aggressors.
Abstract
In crisis intervention, it is important to provide a clear chain of command, remove unnecessary bystanders, acknowledge signs of anger or drug abuse, and describe the intervenor's role as protector. Major concerns for the administrator involve building staff tolerance of violence, development of clear policies and procedures for managing violent behavior, and the provision of staff training in crisis intervention and in the psychological dynamics of violent acting out. For clinicians, key treatment issues center on increasing the violent individual's ability to verbalize feelings without acting out and to develop alternate coping strategies while decreasing egocentrism and increasing empathy. Alternate coping strategies may include biofeedback, exercise, guided imagery, personal problemsolving, prerelease patterning for success, and moral development and empathy training. The need for a team approach that balances security and treatment considerations in the management of the violent individual is emphasized. 1 table and 5 references.