This study explored inpatient staff’s perspective of verbal de-escalation within a high acuity population as well as the factors that make either a positive or negative impact on the effectiveness of verbal de-escalation as used in high acuity impatient settings. This phenomenological study used semi-structured interviews of 5 participants working in this setting. Participants were recruited through snowball sampling, and interviews were conducted via zoom. This study found that participants unanimously agreed that the training they received regarding verbal de-escalation was not sufficient and that employment of certain personality traits and behaviors were more effective than using only the methods of verbal de-escalation they were taught. Participants reported that providing choices for patients, expressing empathy, using humor, validating patient experiences, being self-aware, and avoiding directives were among the many useful skills that have been effective in their experiences of verbally de-escalating patients in crisis. Information gathered from this study suggests that alongside the training provided, making positive human connections with patients plays a vital role in whether verbal de-escalation will be successful.
","abstract_html":"<p>This study explored inpatient staff’s perspective of verbal de-escalation within a high acuity population as well as the factors that make either a positive or negative impact on the effectiveness of verbal de-escalation as used in high acuity impatient settings. This phenomenological study used semi-structured interviews of 5 participants working in this setting. Participants were recruited through snowball sampling, and interviews were conducted via zoom. This study found that participants unanimously agreed that the training they received regarding verbal de-escalation was not sufficient and that employment of certain personality traits and behaviors were more effective than using only the methods of verbal de-escalation they were taught. Participants reported that providing choices for patients, expressing empathy, using humor, validating patient experiences, being self-aware, and avoiding directives were among the many useful skills that have been effective in their experiences of verbally de-escalating patients in crisis. Information gathered from this study suggests that alongside the training provided, making positive human connections with patients plays a vital role in whether verbal de-escalation will be successful.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["DeZutti, Giovanna"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Margaret Warner, Ph.D","Emese Vitalis, Ph.D","Nicholas Lattanzio, PsyD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-07-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2024-07-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:20Z","subjects":["De-escalation","Inpatient Psychiatry","High Acuity","Other Psychology","Personality and Social Contexts"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/842","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Margaret Warner, Ph.D","Emese Vitalis, Ph.D","Nicholas Lattanzio, PsyD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["DeZutti, Giovanna"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-07-13T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["De-escalation","Inpatient Psychiatry","High Acuity","Other Psychology","Personality and Social Contexts"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/842"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study explored inpatient staff’s perspective of verbal de-escalation within a high acuity population as well as the factors that make either a positive or negative impact on the effectiveness of verbal de-escalation as used in high acuity impatient settings. This phenomenological study used semi-structured interviews of 5 participants working in this setting. Participants were recruited through snowball sampling, and interviews were conducted via zoom. This study found that participants unanimously agreed that the training they received regarding verbal de-escalation was not sufficient and that employment of certain personality traits and behaviors were more effective than using only the methods of verbal de-escalation they were taught. Participants reported that providing choices for patients, expressing empathy, using humor, validating patient experiences, being self-aware, and avoiding directives were among the many useful skills that have been effective in their experiences of verbally de-escalating patients in crisis. Information gathered from this study suggests that alongside the training provided, making positive human connections with patients plays a vital role in whether verbal de-escalation will be successful.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Inpatient Staff Perspective on Verbal De-escalation within a High Acuity Population"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Margaret Warner, Ph.D","Emese Vitalis, Ph.D","Nicholas Lattanzio, PsyD"],"dc:creator":["DeZutti, Giovanna"],"dc:date.available":["2024-07-13T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This study explored inpatient staff’s perspective of verbal de-escalation within a high acuity population as well as the factors that make either a positive or negative impact on the effectiveness of verbal de-escalation as used in high acuity impatient settings. This phenomenological study used semi-structured interviews of 5 participants working in this setting. Participants were recruited through snowball sampling, and interviews were conducted via zoom. This study found that participants unanimously agreed that the training they received regarding verbal de-escalation was not sufficient and that employment of certain personality traits and behaviors were more effective than using only the methods of verbal de-escalation they were taught. Participants reported that providing choices for patients, expressing empathy, using humor, validating patient experiences, being self-aware, and avoiding directives were among the many useful skills that have been effective in their experiences of verbally de-escalating patients in crisis. Information gathered from this study suggests that alongside the training provided, making positive human connections with patients plays a vital role in whether verbal de-escalation will be successful.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/842"],"dc:subject":["De-escalation","Inpatient Psychiatry","High Acuity","Other Psychology","Personality and Social Contexts"],"dc:title":["Inpatient Staff Perspective on Verbal De-escalation within a High Acuity Population"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:20Z"}