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High-Risk Behavior Management for Office Staff

Dan Thorne • Sep 23, 2021

Does your office staff know how to handle high-risk behavior?


Here are some examples:


A youth runs out of the waiting room, ready to walk into a busy street. 


A distressed parent calls on the phone because a therapist filed a child abuse report on them. 


A child yells because her mother isn’t at the office yet for their visit. 


A homeless woman enters the office and without talking proceeds to pick up and drop magazines on the floor.


Your agency’s mental health clinicians are trained to handle these types of situations. They go through school to learn how to handle crises. They have the skills to calm down clients. 


But does your receptionist? Your billers? Quality assurance? Other office staff? Those without the training? What do they do?


The best way to help them is by giving them a lesson in customer service. 


Think about the best and worst people you’ve experienced in customer service. On the phone or in person. How did they speak to you? What was their demeanor? What did they say? Were they humble or arrogant? 


How people handled you at a time of crisis (albeit maybe not psychological) made a difference in how you responded. A calm and reassuring person who listened to you and tried to help as quickly as possible. Someone who made you feel heard and important. Who apologized and took responsibility for mistakes. 


These are all the qualities you want your office staff to have when trouble happens. 


Our clients come to social service agencies mostly when their life is in shambles. The child has trouble in school, at home, in the community, with the law. The family may be turbulent, involved in violence, or other aggressive behavior. Their home lives may be tumultuous. But even so, getting help from a counseling clinic, foster family home, or other agency is up there with going to the dentist. Admitting mental health problems makes families face the stigma of illness. They also have their home problems brought to the agency. And their difficulties managing stress. 


Staff sees them at their worst. When they face the ordeal of getting treatment. Therapists understand this and work with the families using therapeutic techniques.


The office staff is not taught those skills. But they can learn. 


By being calm and using a soothing voice. By meeting the client where they’re at. Acknowledging the client’s troubles. That they’re upset. That they need answers quickly. 


Just as we teach our staff Motivational Interviewing techniques such as affirmations and reflections (i.e., rephrasing what the client is saying, acknowledging their emotions, etc.) we can teach our office staff the same. Meeting the client where they’re at. Not downplaying or denying the client’s pain or trouble. But trying to help them get answers.


And doing their best to make it happen. Keeping the client informed every 15 minutes if there’s a delay. 


Teaching office staff to handle crises helps to keep harmony with clients and families. It also reduces their burnout and frustrations, making them feel part of the treatment team.


PRAXES offers many training programs, including High-Risk Behavior Interventions for Office Staff. 


For more information about a specialized program for your organization, please contact us. 

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