In today’s workplace, equipping employees with skills to identify and de-escalate potential hostility, as well as navigate psychosocial hazards, is crucial for the well-being of all involved. Several training programs have emerged to address this need and increase the safety of employees and consumers, including MAPA by the Crisis Prevention Institute, PART by Training Concepts Pty Ltd, and ADP by Resolution Education.
This blog post aims to compare these three programs to help you determine the best approach for your organization’s occupational violence training needs.
What's MAPA (CPI) Training?
MAPA training, which is now usually called CPI Verbal Intervention and CPI Safety Intervention, is designed to teach individuals how to identify potential sources of workplace aggression and provide intervention strategies to manage and de-escalate challenging behavior.
What does MAPA stand for?
Management of Actual or Potential Aggression training, which describes the focus on preventing aggression where possible, but dealing with it safely when it occurs.
Approach
MAPA (CPI) training incorporates trauma-informed and person-centerd approaches, focusing on early intervention and deterrence. There are both non-restrictive and restrictive interventions, and physical interventions where necessary. Staff are taught the safest way to handle situations to de-escalate aggression while protecting themselves and others. They will learn to make decisions under stress and communicate effectively.
Key Features
- Prevention (recognizing potential aggressive behavior) and de-escalation skills
- Disengagement techniques
- Risk assessments
- Emergency programs
- Responding safely to aggressive behavior and minimising risk
- Decision making when in a high-risk scenario
- Specialty programs, e.g., Classroom Culture training
- Physical intervention techniques
Delivery
The training is facilitated in a Train-the-Trainer style with the approach of “we certify your staff as trainers, your trainers train their colleagues, your staff gain skills and confidence”. The training is readily available with prescribed learning outcomes, dates, times, and locations. Full-day workshops and other training methods are offered to suit your company’s needs. Participants will learn with both theory and by interacting with each other in role-playing activities.
Sectors
MAPA (CPI) training serves a range of sectors including healthcare, social care, education, human services, corporate, retail, security, and corrections.
Locations
The head office of MAPA (CPI) is in the USA, but they have other locations which include the UK, France, and Australia.
What's PART Training?
PART training, which stands for Predict, Assess and Respond to Aggressive/Challenging Behaviors, is provided by MTU Training Concepts Pty Ltd, offering training programs ranging from 1-day to 5-days in length. The focus is on prevention and de-escalation, managing behaviors before risks become physical.
Approach
PART training centers around responding to challenges in a safe, ethical, and legally compliant manner while meeting duty of care responsibilities. It emphasizes teamwork, gender neutrality, and considering responsibilities and relationships to employees and clients. Training may include both theory and hands-on approaches of teaching, like role-playing.
Key Features
- Assessing and understanding client needs
- Environmental assessment
- Identifying triggers
- Verbal de-escalation techniques
- Disengagement strategies
- Debriefing and reviewing incidents
- Restraint techniques
Delivery
The training is delivered in-house for up to 20 people per session.
Sectors
PART training serves the government, education, corporate and community sectors, among others.
Locations
The PART training head office is in Sydney, Australia and they serve organizations across the country.
What's ADP Training?
ADP stands for Awareness, De-escalation, and Protection, and it is the training framework behind Resolution Education’s training programs.
Approach
ADP training equips employees with a comprehensive toolkit of practical and legal strategies to address difficult situations effectively.
The training incorporates trauma-informed care, awareness strategies and preventative approaches, but emphasizes that once a boundary has been crossed, effective de-escalation skills are crucial to ensure a safe workplace.
Customization is a huge aspect of Resolution Education’s ADP training with the emphasis on the training being scalable, adaptable, practical, and relevant to all trainees involved, no matter which role or industry they work in.
Key Features
- Identifying triggers
- Recognizing instincts
- Situational awareness
- Environmental assessment
- Understanding emotions
- Verbal de-escalation skills
- Disengagement strategies
- Physical intervention techniques
- Conflict resolution skills
- Emergency responses, e.g., code silver training
- Phone de-escalation
Delivery
Resolution Education’s training programs can be delivered in a range of ways to suit organizational needs. These delivery methods include in-house face-to-face sessions with half-day and full-day options, virtual sessions, and eLearning packages. There is also the ability to do Train-the-Trainer sessions, which certifies participants in the ADP framework, providing them with the ability to train fellow employees in their organization.
The number of participants trained depends on specific organizational needs, but generally, standard sessions host up to 25 people and Train-the-Trainer sessions host up to 10 people.
Sectors
Resolution Education conducts training in all sectors with an emphasis on training being customizable to all learning outcomes, specifications and requirements for all industries.
Locations
The Resolution Education head office is in Brisbane, Australia, but the trainers are based in various states and conduct training at a location that suits each organization. The experienced trainers have held training internationally, including many remote locations.
How Can You Determine the Best Training Program for Your Company?
When selecting the best training program, organizations should consider factors such as customizability, training approach, and adherence to adult learning principles. Adult learners prefer engaging in problem-centered learning experiences and applying new knowledge to their current tasks or challenges. Customization is essential to ensure the training content meets this need and is relevant and practical to the specific organization.
Resolution Education’s ADP training aligns with adult learning principles by offering interactive sessions that involve learners through discussions and role-play, allowing them to relate the training to their own experiences. This approach enhances comprehension and retention of the training content. Furthermore, Resolution Education’s training programs can be tailored to meet the specific learning outcomes, specifications, and requirements of all industries.
Learn with Resolution Education
Addressing occupational violence and aggression requires effective training programs to prepare employees with vital skills for managing and de-escalating potentially violent situations. MAPA (CPI), PART, and ADP training programs offer unique solutions, each with their own approaches and key features. By considering factors like customization and adult learning principles, organizations can determine the training program that best meets their needs.
If you believe that Resolution Education’s ADP training is right for your organization, reach out today to discuss your training needs and take a step towards a safer workplace. Simply fill out the form below or call us.
Frequently Asked Questions
What key advantage does ADP training offer over MAPA and PART in customization?
ADP training uses pre-training consultations with your incident reports, policies, and environments to create role-specific scenarios, making it scalable and relevant across industries unlike MAPA’s standardized Train-the-Trainer workshops or PART’s fixed in-house sessions.
How does ADP’s Awareness component differ from MAPA and PART approaches?
ADP’s Awareness module teaches trigger identification, situational assessment, environmental evaluation, and emotional recognition to prevent escalation early, providing a stronger foundation than MAPA’s risk assessments or PART’s environmental trigger focus.
Why does ADP emphasize verbal de-escalation more than physical intervention?
ADP prioritizes verbal de-escalation skills, disengagement strategies, and phone techniques after boundaries are crossed, reducing reliance on MAPA or PART’s restraint-focused physical interventions by building confidence in non-physical resolution first.
What delivery flexibility sets ADP apart from MAPA and PART training?
ADP offers half/full-day in-house, virtual, eLearning, and Train-the-Trainer options for up to 25 participants (10 for TTT), while MAPA uses preset global workshops and PART limits to 1-5 day in-house sessions for up to 20 people.
How does ADP support emergency responses compared to MAPA and PART?
ADP includes specialized Code Black training, active armed offender responses, and conflict resolution alongside protection skills, offering broader emergency preparedness than MAPA’s emergency programs or PART’s debriefing emphasis.
Which sectors benefit most from ADP over MAPA and PART programs?
ADP serves all sectors including healthcare, education, government, retail, and emergency services with trauma-informed customization, outperforming MAPA’s global healthcare focus and PART’s government/community orientation.