Aggressive Behaviour Control: The ABC Course™

Executive Summary:

Violence and aggression are extremely unpleasant and worrying for most people. We therefore want to feel able to deal with it if the need arises. Moreover most employers now realise their responsibility in equipping their workforce with appropriate training.

The problem arises in just how to deal with it. Naturally most people don't want to 'meet fire with fire' - to become aggressive and violent themselves.

The need is therefore for non physical techniques that are powerful and effective. It is to meet that need that this course was developed. Since its inception, tens of thousands of professionals have attended, either directly through APT or indirectly.

Who should attend:

Everybody who works with people who may be disturbed, distressed or aggressive, including those who have exhibited extreme aggression in the past.

The course covers:

A proper understanding of aggression and violence.

If you can understand what causes aggression and violence you are half way to overcoming it.

• Aggression and violence may be triggered by the primitive-brain, the rational-brain, or a combination of the two.

• The primitive-brain is emotional and feels emotions such as anger, envy, greed, jealousy, territoriality, etc. The rational brain works out how to get the primitive brain what it wants. Thankfully, this is often by obeying social norms and customs. But sometimes it isn't.

• It is vital to understand the interplay between the primitive and rational brain in order to understand aggression.

Knowing what to do about it.

The person who starts with the right attitude, avoids the traps in body language and also knows what to say, can deal with most aggressive situations.

• Communicating directly with the primitive brain: Attitudes and Body Language.

• Verbal strategies. Having the right attitude and body language are both vital. But you also need to know what to say: verbal strategy and technique. Specific strategies: each is powerful at the right time ... you need to be able to choose the best one.

If all else fails.

No matter how bad things are, there is always a best option.

Even in a dire situation there are lots of ideas on (a) escape tactics, (b) calling for help, (c) what to do if you are attacked and (d) what to do if someone else is being attacked.

In each case there is a 'menu' to choose from and it is usually a case of choosing the right item from the menu. Just as with a real menu, there is no item that is right every time. You need to know how to judge.

Prevention is better than cure: Risk Assessment.

Afterwards, the risk is obvious. It needs to be just as obvious before the event.

• In assessing the risk of aggression or violence there are three areas to consider, some of which you can alter, some you can't.

• The more risk factors that are present, the more risky the event.

• There is always a way of eliminating one or more factors and therefore minimising the risk.

What this course will do for you:

• You will properly understand what is happening in the brain when incidents of aggression and violence take place. You will know why such incidents can be so sudden, and why people may show extreme aggression even when it is clearly against their own interests.

• You will be able to do a Risk Assessment - to really know which situations are likely to be aggressive, and how to quickly and easily reduce the risk.

• You will know about body language, and what can accidentally inflame a situation, and what you can do – non-verbally - to calm things down.

• You will know the best things to say in four different common scenarios, and be likely to bring the right thing to mind at the right time. You will know what NOT to say, and how not to say it.

• You will know the single ingredient that is more important than body language and more important than knowing the best things to say, and you will know how to generate it in yourself.

• You will know what you can do even in the 'worst case scenario' where you or a colleague is being attacked.

• Overall, in a reassuring way, you will learn a lot about aggression and violence, and feel more comfortable about dealing with it in your own situation.

What you receive as a result of attending the training:

You will be registered as having attended the course, thereby gaining APT's Level 1 accreditation, and receive a certificate to this effect. The accreditation gives you access to online resources associated with the course and access to the online exam if you wish to uprate your APT accreditation to Level 2.

Your registration lasts indefinitely, and your accreditation lasts for 3 years and is renewable by sitting an online refresher which also upgrades your accreditation to APT Level 2 if you are successful in the associated online exam.

Your accreditation is given value by the fact of over 150,000 people having attended APT training.