Managing crisis situations is a necessary component of effective education and treatment of special needs populations. Recognizing this need, Esperanza School has selected and will be employing Professional Crisis Management (PCM) as the crisis management system. PCM is a system designed to manage crisis situations effectively, safely and with dignity. This is done through four strategies:

1. Crisis prevention strategies: the promotion of positive feelings, productive behaviors and relaxed physiology
2. Crisis de-escalation strategies: non-physical management of non-continuous behaviors that are disruptive, aggressive or self-injurious
3. Crisis intervention procedures: physical management of continuous behaviors that are aggressive and self-injurious
4. Post-crisis strategies: reintegration of the student into existing teaching and treatment systems

PCM has been developed out of more than 15 years of experience in dealing with severely aggressive populations and has a track record of safety and success across hundreds of organizations. PCM utilizes strategies that are based on scientifically verified principles for the prevention or reduction of maladaptive behavior. It is important to note that PCM is NOT a treatment system and can only be used in settings that have existing treatment or academic systems, such as our school.

As noted in Strategy #3, PCM does employ the use of physical restraint when necessary (i.e., in “crisis” situations). A crisis situation is defined by Esperanza School as: continuous aggression, and/or continuous self-injury, and the student poses an imminent threat to self or others.

CLICK HERE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM THE PCM WEBSITE