Empathy, Normalization and De-escalation: Management of the Agitated Patient in Emergency and Critical Situations

This book describes theory and techniques of empathic communication, normalization and de-escalation procedures for the management of aggressive or violent patients in clinical critical settings'. Consisting of 9 chapters, it discusses in detail the self-regulation of empathy in potential dangerous interactions, as well as common mistakes and nonprofessional reactions. It also explores the basic concept of neurobiology of violence and aggression behaviour, such as brain circuitry and neuromodulators, and other rapid tranquillization guidelines. The final chapter focuses on the crucial topics of post-aggression debriefing.Based on the clinical experience of the editors and authors, who work in emergency psychiatry settings, the book offers practical key expressions to promote a normalization talk, to calm agitated individuals, and to prevent crises both for psychiatric patients and people without mental disorders. It is a useful tool to help readers gain confidence as mediators in critical circumstances and will be of interest for a wide range of practitioners in healthcare settings, from psychiatrists and psychologists, to nurses and other healthcare workers.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Meaning of the END Methods.- Psychomotor Agitation and Aggression.- Neurobiology of Aggression and Violence.- Empathy regulation in crisis scenario.- Normalization.- De-escalation techniques in various settings.- Rapid Tranquillisation.- Communication in psychiatric coercive treatment and patients’ decisional capacity to consent.- Immediate post-aggression debrief. 

About the Author :
Massimo Biondi is a Full Professor of Psychiatry and Head of the psychiatry residency program at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. He is also Head of the Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health and of the acute psychiatric inpatient ward at the Policlinico Umberto I Hospital in Rome. He has authored 30 books and more than 450 scientific papers on topics ranging from psychopathology to stress and psychosomatic medicine. He serves as editor-in-chief of the peer-reviewed journal Rivista di Psichiatria, indexed in PubMed/Medline. He also serves on the editorial boards of the high-impact, peer-reviewed journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics and several other peer-reviewed journals.Massimo Pasquini, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Department Of Human Neurosciences - Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. He is also the coordinator of the outpatient service for Psycho-Oncology. He has authored or co-authored around 100 papers in international peer-reviewed journals (H index 21, Scopus 2020), as well as a number of book chapters. He has delivered numerous presentations and posters at national and international congresses. Lorenzo Tarsitani, MD, PhD, is currently an Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the International Medical School - Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. He was qualified as Associate Professor of Psychiatry in 2017. He is the Coordinator of the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit at "Umberto I" University Hospital of Rome. Since 2005, he has occasionally worked as a temporary advisor and consultant for the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse of the World Health Organization, in Geneva, as part of the Mental Health Global Action Programme project. He received his medical degree in 1999 from the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, where he also specialized in psychiatry in 2003. He has authored and co-authored around 70 scientific papers (Scopus H-index: 15) and 20 book chapters.