Practitioner Articles

In this article, Professor Andrew McDonnell discusses the traditional approach to crisis management skills, which he describes as ‘pseudo martial arts,’ and why we need to find alternative ways to keep distressed and vulnerable people safe.

This is the second in a series of articles on physical interventions training in the crisis management industry. Here, the author focuses on the importance of learning from lived experiences of physical interventions, restraint, and seclusion. 

This practitioner article explores the science behind how exercise can help reduce stress levels, and provides practical tips on incorporating physical activity into daily routines; for both individuals being supported and caregivers alike.

This is the first in a series of articles on physical interventions training in the crisis management industry. Here, the author focuses on the issue of terminology. 

This article uses a case study to demonstrate some common experiences of crisis management training in care settings, and discusses some examples of poor implementation and delivery of crisis management training.

The purpose of this article is to provide a rationale and framework for the use of a Thematic Analysis approach in clinical practice in order to better understand an individual's lived experience and support them with this. 

The use of restraint and seclusion in school settings is an international problem. It has been the impression of the authors that there has been an alarming increase in the acceptance of these practices in school environments.In this article, we outline some of the key issues, and use our knowledge of behaviour management to recommend solutions.

In this article, we will look at some of the issues residential services can face, including toxic working environments, safeguarding violations and abusive practices, and attempt to discuss the wider implications of poor practice for care services across the UK.

In this article,  I reflect on my experience of having a hidden disability and how this informs my practice as an Assistant Psychologist. Throughout I use some illustrative examples, both from my personal life and from a clinical case study.

The purpose of this article is to make practitioners more aware of malignant alienation, why it occurs, how it affects our work, and the best way to manage it.

This article discusses the prevalence of self-injury in autistic women and describes a Low Arousal Framework to support coping.

In recent years, there has been a move towards making research more representative of the diversity that we see around us. This article discusses the need for practice-based evidence to inform support in the context of neurodiversity.

The primary purpose of this article is to help practitioners, families, and wider communities support individuals with a learning disability presenting with anger. This article briefly describes how anger arises in the learning disability community, shows fictitious examples of anger and provides tangible actions.

This short article describes how the Studio 3 LASER Programme approaches the difficult topic of reducing physical interventions and other restrictive practices within schools and other educational settings.

This article provides a case study in Low Arousal, demonstrating the application of Low Arousal Approaches to a person who is distressed.

The key aim of this article is to provide a personal perspective that demonstrates the power of stress management and Low Arousal approaches in real-life settings.

Autism is a condition that continues to be misunderstood and stigmatised in society today. This can make it increasingly difficult for autistic individuals and their families to access support structures. This article offers an insight into supporting autistic individuals from a family perspective.