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Don’t miss this exciting and interactive training designed to boost your confidence and skills when responding to behavioral emergencies! Tailored for our Fire and EMS partners, this session brings real-world strategies, practical de-escalation techniques, and dynamic insights you can use on your very next call. Led by Emergency Medicine Physician Dr. Vito Petrozzino and our Director of Security & Emergency Management, you’ll learn how to recognize behavioral health crises, communicate effectively under pressure, and create a safer, calmer environment for both patients and responders. Join us for a fast-paced, engaging educational experience that empowers you to stay safe, stay prepared, and elevate the care you deliver in the field.

Objectives:

Behavioral Emergencies – Dr. Vito Petrozzino

• Identify common behavioral health emergencies: anxiety, depression, psychosis, bipolar disorder, suicidal ideation, substance-induced disorders, and excited delirium.
• Differentiate psychiatric presentations from medical causes (e.g., hypoxia, hypoglycemia, metabolic, neurologic, intoxication, withdrawal, endocrine).
• Recognize risk of harm to self or others and signs of escalating agitation requiring EMS–law enforcement coordination.
• Use verbal de-escalation and rapport as first-line management.
• Provide coordinated, safe EMS–law enforcement care with dignity and role clarity.
• Apply physical or chemical restraints only when necessary and per protocol.
• Follow evidence-based EMS guidelines for treatment, transport, and medications.
• Make appropriate transport decisions, including behavioral health destinations when indicated.

De-escalation Training – Carlos Rodriguez

• Prevention of Escalation (Early Recognition & Risk Reduction)
  • Identify early warning signs of agitation and escalating behavior in patients experiencing behavioral or mental health emergencies, including verbal cues, body language, and environmental stressors.
  • Explain the role of provider self-awareness, emotional regulation, and bias in preventing escalation during high-stress EMS encounters.
  • Apply scene safety and environmental control strategies (e.g., positioning, distance, exit awareness, limiting stimuli) to reduce the likelihood of violence before patient contact occurs.
  • Describe the importance of trauma-informed and patient-centered approaches in preventing behavioral escalation in EMS settings.
• Non-Physical De-Escalation Techniques (Primary Intervention)
  • Demonstrate effective verbal de-escalation techniques, including calm tone, simple language, reflective listening, and empathy, to reduce patient agitation and resistance.
  • Utilize non-verbal communication strategies (posture, facial expression, proximity, and movement) that reduce perceived threat and promote cooperation.
  • Set clear, respectful limits and offer choices to support patient autonomy while maintaining provider safety and clinical control.
  • Explain why non-physical de-escalation is the preferred first-line intervention and how its use can reduce the need for restraints, injuries, and adverse outcomes.
• Physical De-Escalation & Intervention (Last Resort)
  • Describe the indications, risks, and limitations of physical interventions, emphasizing that physical control is a last resort when non-physical strategies have failed and there is an imminent safety threat.
  • Recognize the medical and legal risks associated with physical restraint, including positional asphyxia, patient injury, and provider liability.
  • Identify best-practice principles for physical engagement, including team coordination, continuous reassessment, rapid transition to medical management, and timely handoff to definitive care.
  • Explain documentation and reporting expectations following physical de-escalation or restraint events in accordance with EMS, hospital, and regulatory standards.

Session 1 Agenda: