Predisposition Report Interview Essay

What would you do? is the capstone of the Question Four scenario:
A juvenile and his parent are in your office for a Predisposition Report Interview. During the interview, the juvenile and his father begin to argue with each other. They raise their voices, curse, and the father begins to call the juvenile names.
My position: a subconscious perception of fear has triggered emotion (anxiety) and produced a conflict. The words “father begins to” infers a physical response is a heartbeat away. Textbooks and OJT may fail you.
What I do and Why
Trained responses o Interrupt the escalation with empathetic but firm acknowledgement and feedback language “Mr. Smith, let’s take a break - I hear that you are angry, but yelling will hurt our goal of helping your son get a recommendation that will help him stay out of the juvenile system--you know, have a better life and don’t get arrested again. What do you think about

Novel presentation o Yell “Stop!” or “This interview is over!” o Ask the parent a ridiculous question “Mr. Smith, have you brushed your teeth today?” o Preplan for a team member to aggressively open door, run in, to my side of the desk, grab something and run out
Sources: Applied psychology, Citizen Patrol Academy, Animal Training Experience
Reflection
Startle reflex and novelty saves lives. It works once per event. Over five years of work with traumatic brain injury (TBI) clients and developmentally disabled people, startle reflex and novel presentation offered the safest and most effective way to manage aggressive behavior. Ending the interview with the first aggressive episode initiates a habit of calmer behavior next