Product Description
According to author Frederick J. Lanceley, known as one of the world's foremost crisis negotiation authorities, negotiators must train and train regularly. For just as the legal field constantly evolves, so does the field of crisis negotiation. The new edition of his On-Scene Guide for Crisis Negotiators reflects this fact. A bestseller in its first edition, this book offers practical advice with regard to the theory, procedures, and techniques of crisis and suicide intervention and hostage negotiation. Two new chapters cover negotiation with people under the influence of drugs or alcohol and how first responders can contain the situation until a negotiator can arrive. With a suicide intervention flow chart, a checklist for investigators assisting negotiators, and an on-scene guide for crisis negotiators, this indispensable book provides the tools you need to conduct successful negotiations and 'make nothing happen.' ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

On-Scene Guide For Crisis Negotiators
Mr. Lanceley's book provided clear answers and filled in some of the gaps that our current one week training missed.Thank-you Mr. Lanceley, your book is securely placed in my "go-bag" and will enable our team to continue to save lives.

Excellent book on Crisis Negotiations...
especially for brainwashing victims, with
Stockyard Syndrome. Highly influencial
and recommended reading. Good points
from Jack McLamb and Bo Gritz also, who
saved Randy Weaver, most of his family
and friend Kevin Harris.

Review of On-scene guide for crisis negotiators
Good 1st book to read on those wanting to be Negotiators in the Law Enforcement field.

A Worthy Addition To The Field
Frederick Lanceley's "On-Scene Guide for Crisis Negotiators" is a long needed compendium of technique and definition in the field of crisis negotitations. Mr. Lanceley's vast experience has enabled him to providetechniques based on real-life situations not just theory. The volume isarranged in a concise, easy-to-reference format which should be a part ofevery negotiator's "Ready Kit". One of the most important pointsabout this book is the fact that it addresses the types of situations faceddaily by police negotiators. Suicide intervention, long a subject ignoredin many negotiations seminars, is given in-depth treatment. In addition,the entire book is an interesting read. His account of his involvement atRuby Ridge is fascinating. I would recommend this book to anyone involvedin the field, police commanders and anyone interested in crisisintervention.

On-Scene Guide for Crisis Negotiators
Recently retired FBI Special Agent Fred Lanceley gives us the benefit of his expertise in this highly detailed book on the actions a crisis negotiator must take in the field.Lanceley describes techniques that willbe of benefit to any police officet, tactical dispatcher, hostagenegotiator or crisis counselor who is confronted with a barricaded subject,a mentally disturbed individual or a potential hostage taker. These peopleare encouraged to read Lanceley's book and to include it in your currenttraining.Dave Larton, Member, California Association of HostageNegotiators ... Read more

Product Description
This text, based on Dr Victoroff's lectures and seminars, describes the phenomenon of suicide as the doctor encounters the event. It offers suggestions regarding how persons and institutions might respond constructively to the tragedy of suicide in general and the youthful suicide in particular. ... Read more

Product Description
his astonishing book by the prizewinning, bestselling author of A Natural History of the Senses reveals Ackerman's parallel lives as an observer of the wildlife in her garden and as a telephone crisis counselor. "(Ackerman) brings a luminous and illuminating combination of sensuality, science, and speculation to whatever she considers."--San Francisco Examiner.


From the Hardcover edition.Amazon.com Review
Diane Ackerman has generally turned her unusual sensitivity toconsideration of the natural world and the human experience of it.InA Slender Thread, she journeys down a vastly different road,describing her involvement with a telephone crisis center in thecollege town where she lives.The callers want her to talk them outof suicide, and their fear and sadness is a weight she at first has trouble bearing gracefully.

"It's no bother.That's why we're here," I say, trying not to sound dutiful orperfunctory.I want him to stay calm, but I also want him to feelcomfortable about calling.As usual, I wish I had more control overmy voice, wish I could sculpt its nuances so that, regardless of theexact words I used, the tone would tell a caller like this one,You're not alone.We're here to help you, or, if help isimpossible, at least to understand. I think it's possible toinsinuate your emotions into your voice wholeheartedly like that, tospeak sentences charged with pure emotion, as if they were part of anopera in which indecipherable words float on waves of heart-stirringand meaningful music.I just can't figure out how best to doit.

Ackerman explores human despair as shewould a magnificent cavern, always moving toward the lightof understanding.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Excellent writing and interesting read
Ackerman clearly loves and knows how to use words...her very specific descriptions of nature are complemented by her overview of the process of "hot line" management and intervention.Sometimes it's difficult to tell which is her priority.But that's not a negative...she operates in the land of NOW, and reminds us all to do the same.I am recommending, and purchasing, for others.

The Fragility of Human Life
As a volunteer at a local crisis center, Diane Ackerman gets to explore the human psyche. She traverses the human drama with a sense of compassion. She answers calls from a wide variety of people in her local area. She tells the story of a college student dealing with a drunken roommate and a frightened and depressed woman who has taken a bottle of Tylenol. Each call is a private drama and at times the stories created an emotional response.

Diane Ackerman's writing style and careful observations allow you to feel the pain of the callers. I will admit that it did at times feel insensitive when she alternated between stories of her enjoyment of life (baths, watching squirrels, biking) with the stories of people's pain. There are stories of squirrels interspersed with stories of people wanting to jump off bridges. She at times digresses into talking about depressed polar bears or how she watched a moth for hours out in nature.

She discusses famous people with manic-depression and talks about how she broke her foot. At times this reads like a diary of events over one year so you are not only hearing about the callers you are reading about the events of Diane's life. There is also a behind-the-scenes look at how counselors actually feel about the callers. I was not surprised that Diane Ackerman also goes looking for one of the callers because she is especially curious.

In the end this book seems to be about compassion and the fragility of human life. If you remember that Diane is as interested in nature as human nature, this book makes more sense. I liked how Diane encouraged the callers to nurture themselves and how she saved lives through intervention. The conversations with the callers are the highlight of the book and you may find yourself skipping through some of the other details to get to more stories about the callers.

~The Rebecca Review

Beautiful
A beatifully written book by a highly actualized woman.Wonderfull to know there are people like her.One comment."Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is in the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution.(p92?)And alas, had the founding fathers declared personal intoxication our god given birthright what kind of world might we live in today?

An important subject - glanced
I really wanted to like this book. It'sabout a subject that interests me -- working on a crisis phone line. And it is written by a renown and respected writer. But I was disappointed.

I have volunteered on a crisis phone line in a university town, and the setting the Ackerman describes is so familiar it's almost like she and I were at the exact same place. I relived my own steps up the stairway up to the phone room, sat on the couch where you could rest while waiting for your shift, perused the log book....

But Ackerman digresses almost constantly, straying far from the subject of the book. In fact, it's hard to say what is the meat of the book and what is a digression. This is intentional, as she believes in following the path of her own imagination. I found it self-indulgent though.

I really wanted a more focused look at the experience of working on a crisis line, how you are touched by others' lives, how difficult it is to help. Instead, she does much meandering about, well, squirrels. Lots of squirrels.

Very disappointing
As a therapist in a mental hospital and a volunteer for a crisis line, I was very interested in this book for Ackerman's insights into working with persons in crisis over the telephone. While I did appreciate her healthy and Zen-like perspective on life and the natural world, I felt she really didn't address much about the crisis work at all. Instead, most of this book consists of ramblings about unrelated aspects of nature and shameless self-promotion of her other literary and artistic efforts.

To illustrate my point, I present a breakdown of a typical chapter in the book; of 22 pages, 3 pages were dedicated to thoughts about being an artist, 2 pages to women's roles, 4 pages to her ordeals when she broke her foot, 1 page about zoos, 1 page about food, 4 pages about solar eclipses, 1 page about the word "asylum", 4 pages about squirrels, and a whopping 2 pages about a crisis call.

I agree with other reviewers that her writing stlye is also very awkward, with some sentences running on for entire pages and rarely coming to any points.While this book isn't entirely bad, I felt it was a disappointing effort at addressing the dynamics of individuals on both sides of a crisis telephone line, which is how it is promoted. ... Read more

Product Description
This book teaches both counselors and youth in group work to expand their affective vocabulary. Essential information is incorporated on crisis work and suicide couseling. ... Read more

Product Description
Treatment of suicidal people takes three forms: prevention - strategies to avert conditions leading to suicide; intervention - treatment and care during the crisis; and postvention - response after the event has occurred. Unlike other current literature, here the focus is on the state of the art of intervention. This type of examination is essential, because suicidal people themselves are in need of such treatments - crisis intervention, psychotherapy, psychopharmacology and hospitalization.; Written by professionals in the field, the "Treatment of Suicidal People" allows readers to participate in a learning experience. First is a case presentation of an individual - Arthur Inman - and his long road toward suicide, as chronicled in his personal diary. The seond section puts forth guidelines for the evaluation of suicide risk and crisis intervention. A focus on more sustained efforts in psychotherapy is next, a theme which is continued in the fourth part by addressing psychiatric issues that are essential for treatment of highly disturbed and lethal patients.; The following section examines a number of clinical and legal issues that transcend any one population of suicidal people, and any particular treatment approach or context. And lastly, the volume returns to Arthur Inman, with case consultations providing alternative perspectives and recommendations on his treatment. Suicide and related forms of self-injurious behaviour can be circumvented, if the involved professionals are sufficiently trained in assessment and prevention. ... Read more

Product Description
Text for the clinician treating a suicidal patient. Covers standards and guidelines for caring for and monitoring the patient, guidelines for consultation, models of treatment, and models for involving significant others. Previous edition: c1991. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

suicidal patients
dr. bongar's work is especially helpful for mental health professionals to help them understand and appreciate the experience through which the prospectively suicidal patient finds him or herself.like most books published by the apa, it is fairly exhaustive on research (although this review is written 4 years after publication and i acknowledge that a current revision would be welcome in a couple years), perhaps a bit theoretical, and does not provide succinctly written summaries for a busy professionals.it outlines clinical considerations and potential courses or action.it examines legal issues relevant to clinical intervention and failed intervention.the recommendations dr. bongar makes are excellent.this is not, in my opinion, a book for families or patients.i highly recommend this book for academicians and clinicians who wish to better understand and want to more effectively manage potentially suicidal situations.at $33, i think that the information i learned more than justified the purchase.

Suicide Basics
Dr. Bongar gives a practicing psychotherapist the information she or he needs to decrease the risk of suicide by a patient and effectively intervene with the suicidal patient.

Essential reading.

Essential reading for all practicing clinicians
The Suicidal Patient by Bruce Bongar provides a much-needed manual for all practicing clinicians.Why do I say all?Well, if you are a clinician the odds are that at some point in your career you will encounter a suicidal patient.In fact, according to Bongar, even "student therapists have a one in three chance of experiencing a patient suicide or suicide attempt during their training years."

By taking a few simple precautions you can greatly minimize your chance of being sued.But, I believe, even more importantly, Bongar champions the idea that if you provide high quality care the odds of you being able to prevent a suicide dramatically increase.According to Bongar, high quality care happens when you have a real understanding of both clinical and legal issues and you apply this knowledge and tailor your approach to each individual.

Obviously you're a therapist, and not a fortuneteller, and so mistakes will happen.Why not learn the basics ahead of time so that you don't make stupid mistakes?

If you effectively deal with a suicidal patient, and he or she improves, then you may have just helped someone save his or her own life.I can't think of a better feeling than that, which is why Bongar provides you with a manual to effectively deal with the suicidal patient.Take responsibility for your practice and prepare for the worst because by doing so you may achieve the best outcome of all.

With that said, I want to be clear about the format of this book.It is written for clinicians.If you are looking for a self-help book this is definitely not for you.Bongar is a therapy researcher and so like much therapy research the book is somewhat dry.This is to be expected since the list of citations alone span thirty-eight pages.The fact that all this voluminous literature has been synthesized into one book is impressive indeed and one only need consider how dry it would be to read all the primary sources to realize the service that this book provides.

Specifically the book provides:
1. A history of suicide research and current theories and research in the field.
2. A comprehensive section on the legal issues involved in treating suicidal patients.
3. Many methods to assess patient risk including assessment protocols and case histories.
4. Best practices for treatment in both inpatient and outpatient settings
5. A section on risk management that includes suggestions for unfortunate event that the patient carries out a suicidal act. ... Read more

Product Description
The quality of the therapeutic alliance is a well-established factor for successful therapy process and outcome. When it comes to treating suicidal patients, a strong therapeutic alliance can quite literally save a person's life.

In this book, editors Konrad Michel and David A. Jobes have enlisted an elite group of clinicians and researchers to explore what has become known as the "Aeschi approach" to clinical suicide prevention.

According to this view, mental health professionals working with patients at risk for suicide must recognize a fundamental conflict at the heart of good clinical practice: while they are experts in the assessment of disorders of mental health, when it comes to the patient's story, the patient is the expert. Any successful intervention with a suicidal patient must therefore be based on an empathic understanding of suicidal thoughts and behavior that honors the patient's very personal perspective.

This exceptional volume addresses a wide range of issues, from the principles and method of establishing a working alliance, to patient-oriented therapeutic models, to practical clinical matters such as the therapeutic alliance within specific treatments across theoretical orientations. Most importantly, this book provides essential guidance for clinical suicide risk reduction that may help save lives. ... Read more