Physical Self-Protection and De-Escalation Skills
Enhance staff safety while preserving the therapeutic relationship.
CTI's Physical Self-Protection and De-Escalation Skills workshop exposes staff to non-violent self-protection and disengaging skills. The program is designed to enhance personal safety while preserving the therapeutic relationship between the client and staff member.
Participants build awareness of imminent assault cues, body positioning, movement, personal vulnerabilities, psychological distraction and evasion, and practical disengagement from common physical assaults.
Build awareness, movement and disengagement skills for higher-risk interactions.
Participants develop both situational awareness and practical non-violent self-protection techniques.
Recognize Imminent Assault
Learn to assess behaviour and identify warning signs that may indicate an assault is becoming more likely.
Understand Survival Intuition
Explore the “gift of fear,” or survival intuition, and how it can contribute to earlier recognition of unsafe situations.
Know Your Strengths & Limitations
Increase awareness of personal physical strengths, limitations and factors that can influence safe response choices.
Use Safer Body Positioning
Identify supportive and defensive body positions that can improve awareness, balance and options for disengagement.
Improve Movement Awareness
Build awareness of body movement, vulnerable areas and how positioning can affect personal safety.
Use Distraction & Evasion
Learn psychological distraction and evasion skills that can help create space and reduce exposure to physical harm.
Recognize, position and disengage.
The workshop builds from early awareness through positioning and movement to practical disengagement when necessary.
Recognize Risk
Use behavioural cues, intuition and situational awareness to identify when a situation may be moving toward physical aggression.
Position for Safety
Use body positioning, movement and awareness of vulnerable areas to maintain safer options during an escalating interaction.
Disengage When Necessary
Apply non-violent distraction, evasion and disengagement skills when physical contact occurs and continued proximity is unsafe.
Practise responses to common forms of physical aggression.
CTI's workshop includes hands-on practice focused on disengaging from physical assaults while emphasizing non-violent self-protection and staff safety.
Post-Crisis Stress Reaction & Self-Care
The workshop also addresses what happens after a crisis. Participants learn more about post-crisis stress reactions and the importance of self-care following exposure to aggressive or physically threatening incidents.
Strengthen personal safety skills across your team.
This training can be especially relevant for staff working in healthcare, social services, community programs, justice environments, residential settings or other workplaces where aggressive behaviour may occur.
CTI provides onsite and online organizational training, although physical-skills delivery may require an in-person format depending on the skills being taught and your organization's needs.
Frequently Asked Questions About Physical Self-Protection and De-Escalation Skills
Learn more about CTI's Physical Self-Protection and De-Escalation Skills training, including non-violent disengagement, body positioning, movement, personal safety, post-crisis self-care, and organizational training options.
What is Physical Self-Protection and De-Escalation Skills training?
This workshop introduces non-violent self-protection and disengaging skills designed to enhance staff safety while preserving the therapeutic relationship between the client and staff member.
What will participants learn?
Participants learn how to assess signs of imminent assault, understand survival intuition, recognize personal strengths and limitations, use supportive and defensive body positioning, improve movement awareness, use psychological distraction and evasion, and practise disengaging from common physical assaults.
Does the workshop teach physical disengagement skills?
Yes. Participants practise disengaging from strikes, kicks, punches, grabs, chokes, hair pulls and bites.
Does the course focus on non-violent approaches?
Yes. CTI describes the program as exposing staff to non-violent self-protection and disengaging skills.
What is survival intuition?
The course explores the "gift of fear," also described as survival intuition, and how it can help participants recognize and respond to potentially unsafe situations.
Does the workshop cover body positioning and movement?
Yes. Participants learn supportive and defensive body positioning approaches and build awareness of body movement and vulnerable areas.
Does the training include post-crisis self-care?
Yes. The course includes learning about post-crisis stress reactions and self-care.
Can this training be delivered to organizations?
Yes. CTI provides organizational training and can deliver Physical Self-Protection and De-Escalation Skills training to staff teams.