May 1996


                     Enhancing Negotiator Training
                      Therapeutic Communication

                        by Arthur Slatkin, M.A.

____________________

Mr. Slatkin, formerly the employee assistance program coordinator
with the Jefferson County Corrections Department in Louisville,
Kentucky, is a certified clinical psychologist with the Kentucky
State Reformatory's Division of Mental Health in LaGrange.
____________________

(By using certain communication techniques developed by mental
health professionals, negotiators might be able to resolve
critical incidents more peacefully.)


Law enforcement officers who apply for assignment to critical
incident teams often see themselves, and may be described by
others, as possessing the "gift of gab." That is, they display
good verbal ability.1

Although these officers probably developed some verbal ability
while working patrol or other assignments, the proficiency level
demonstrated by these officers will vary widely. Some may have
received limited formal training in the techniques of
interpersonal communication as part of their basic academy
instruction. A smaller percentage may have obtained advanced
communication training at a university while in pursuit of an
advanced degree. Most officers, however, possess little or no
formal interpersonal communication training.

This void rarely is filled, even when prospective negotiators
become part of a critical incident team. Typically, hostage
recovery and negotiation training includes an introduction to
abnormal behavior; the terminology and symptoms of the major
mental, emotional, and personality disorders; the history and
theory of hostage negotiation; the roles of first responders,
negotiators, and tactical team members; and a review of
equipment, techniques, tactics, strategies of containment,
negotiation, and assault. Within this broad array of instruction,
little, if any, training focuses on basic interpersonal
communication skills. Thus, the primary tool of negotiators--the
ability to communicate--remains untaught, left largely to chance
and the presumptions of innate ability.

Despite these limitations, negotiators in agencies across the
United States have established an enviable track record for
resolving critical incidents. However, the volatile nature of
such incidents and the potential for harm to hostages and
tactical officers should negotiations fail require negotiators to
explore ways to improve their communication skills.

This article discusses therapeutic communication, an approach
commonly taught to and employed by mental health professionals to
resolve conflicts involving individuals with mental disorders. As
two law enforcement agencies in Kentucky have discovered, many of
the principles of therapeutic communication can be applied in a
law enforcement setting. The strong interpersonal communication
skills fostered by this approach provide an effective supplement
to traditional negotiation training.

IN THE MENTAL HEALTH FIELD

Therapeutic communication differs greatly from casual
conversation. It is calculated, deliberate, purposeful, and
focused. Practitioners carefully formulate each intervention, and
when employed in the mental health setting, each intervention is
selected to achieve a specific objective at that moment, during
the session, and throughout the treatment.

Therapeutic communication involves focusing and following,
inquiring effectively, reflecting feeling and content, and
structuring dialogue for information and action.2 For example,
mental health workers might find it desirable in a particular
case to promote conversation with a shy and anxious person. In
other cases, they may need to stem the flow of speech in overly
talkative subjects who ramble excessively to mask their feelings.

Therapeutic communication focuses on three response types--
listening, acting, and sharing. Each response type consists of
several verbal techniques. Within the listening-type response
category, for example, therapists use five techniques--
paraphrase, reflection, clarification, primary level empathy, and
summarization--to help shape the dialogue in a productive way.
During therapeutic dialogue, therapists may select and employ any
number of these techniques to achieve specific ends.

Students of mental health learn these techniques in graduate
level courses and practice them in "micro-counseling"
laboratories. During these sessions, instructors introduce a
technique--such as paraphrase--and discuss its use and objective.
Students then pair off and alternately role-play client and
therapist to practice the technique.

Through consistent practice, students become more proficient in
each technique. Over time, awkwardness gives way to confidence
and fluency. Techniques are added as weaves in a fabric,
ultimately forming the seamless dialogue of therapy.

IN CRITICAL INCIDENTS

During a hostage taking or barricade situation, negotiators
assume a quasi-therapeutic role in relation to the subject.3 In
fact, statistics reveal that negotiators deal predominately with
individuals having mental or emotional disorders.4 Perhaps for
this reason, authorities in the field have referred to successful
negotiations as "talking cures."5

As with therapists, the principal tool of negotiators is the
ability to communicate with subjects in a way that resolves an
incident with a minimum of injury or loss of life. Likewise, some
of the language and techniques of psychotherapy can be applied in
incidents encountered by law enforcement, such as domestic
disputes, suicide interventions, and critical incidents.6

Going beyond standard conversational art, therapeutic
communication conveys that negotiators are listening actively to
subjects, concerned about their welfare, and invested in bringing
the incident to a safe resolution. By communicating a heightened
sense of empathy, negotiators may be able to gain insights that
could lead to the peaceful surrender of a subject.

DIFFERENT AGENDAS

Of course, significant differences do exist between negotiators
and therapists. Police negotiators, properly concerned with their
legal mandate, pursue their agenda primarily by "managing"
incidents.7 Therapists generally are less patently manipulative
as they promote the mutually agreed-upon agenda of therapist and
client, i.e., the treatment plan.

Despite these differences, a number of law enforcement agencies
have recognized the basic similarities between therapy and
negotiation. In Kentucky, the Louisville Police Department
recognized the value of therapeutic communication and sought
training for its well-established and highly effective hostage
negotiation team. Similarly, the less-experienced hostage
negotiation team of the Jefferson County Jail saw a need to
enhance its communication tools.

In response, trainers from the Jefferson County Corrections
Department devised an instruction program to present the material
in a way that would be meaningful to the officers and allow
sufficient practice time. As a unique component of the program,
instructors structured the classroom material deliberately and
formally in the role-play itself, in a stressed demand situation,
to ensure that each technique could be employed and practiced by
the participants. The material included in the initial
instruction program was not intended to be all-inclusive, but
drew from the core techniques of therapeutic communication.

INSTRUCTION PROGRAM

Trainers determined that a two-part program represented the best
way to present and reinforce the  material. The program consists
of an instructional module in communication techniques and a
role-play simulation. Through this program, trainers seek to:
  -  Convince officers of the utility  of communication training  
     as a way of improving their negotiation skills
  -  Reinforce the positive communication skills of experienced   
     negotiators
  -  Instruct officers in the therapeutic communication skills    
     applicable for hostage and crisis negotiation
  -  Teach officers the names of the techniques and the           
     rationales for employing them, so that they could be         
     employed deliberately, on demand; and so that the officers   
     could communicate about them in a common language
  -  Provide officers with a structured opportunity to practice   
     their new skills to enhance confidence.

The Communication Techniques Module

A trained mental health professional presents the communication
training module. From the three clusters of response types
(listening, acting, and sharing), the trainer teaches 14
communication techniques. Written practice exercises give the
students an opportunity to apply the learning and to receive
immediate feedback on their responses. The exercises, consisting
of hostage taker statements and hostage negotiator responses,
then are used as a script to create a dialogue.

For the exercises, the instructor divides the group into triads,
made up of two students and an observer. The first student reads
the statements of the hostage taker. The second student sits
opposite the first and responds with the hostage negotiator's
reply. The remaining student observes the two participants. The
instructor critiques each of the responses for effectiveness and
judges them for accuracy against the accepted responses. After
each student completes a turn, the teams rotate until every
student performs in every role.

The Role-play

    Setting Up

Materials used in the role play  include two sets of scenario
cards, one for each primary negotiator and hostage taker; a set
of 14 communication cards, corresponding to the 14 communication
techniques in the training module; a reference book on these
communication responses; and instructions for the role-play.
Prior to the start of the role-play, the team leader, or
controller, chooses a primary negotiator, a secondary negotiator,
and a hostage taker.

The primary negotiator and hostage taker face each other but are
separated by an opaque screen; the secondary negotiator sits
beside the primary negotiator. This individual gives assistance
and support to the primary negotiator, as requested or deemed
appropriate, and is prepared to take over for the primary
negotiator, if need be.


The controller places the communication cards and numbered
scenario cards, respectively, on a table in front of the primary
negotiator and the hostage taker. The primary negotiator draws a
numbered scenario card from the pack; the hostage taker then
draws the same numbered card. These cards contain identifying
data (name, age, race, and gender of the subject), a description
of the current situation, and a suggested opening line to begin
the dialogue. The controller signals the beginning of play and
circulates throughout the role-play.

    Acting Out the Roles

The controller initiates play with a chime, whistle, or handclap.
At this time, the primary negotiator and hostage taker pick the
first of the numbered scenario cards and open the dialogue. As
the dialogue gains momentum, the controller sounds the first of a
series of double signals, usually  handclaps. At the signal, the
primary negotiator draws the first of the 14 communication cards.
The primary negotiator must employ the technique indicated on the
card as soon as practicable but before the next signal sounds.

As play progresses, the controller periodically gives a double
signal, indicating that the primary negotiator must draw a new
communication card and work the specified technique into the
dialogue before the next signal. After several communication
cards have been played, the controller sounds a triple signal,
which brings the play to a halt and opens the debriefing.

Debriefing

All participants--the primary negotiator, the secondary
negotiator, the hostage taker, and the controller--take part in
the debriefing by providing feedback to each other about their
observations and their evaluations of the effects--and the  
effectiveness--of their actions.  During the debriefing, players
may ask how the other participants felt when they said something
or took a specific action.
After a reasonable exchange, the controller sounds a chime four
times, signaling the players to rotate into different roles. A
new controller signals and play resumes until each player has had
an opportunity to perform each role.

CONCLUSION

Because communication represents the key to resolving critical
incidents successfully, critical incident negotiators must
possess the ability to talk with subjects and to convince them
that surrender is their best option. Negotiation between two
rational parties is a complex process; prolonged negotiation that
involves one or more subjects with mental disorders requires a
skill level that few prospective negotiators possess. It is wrong
to assume the "gift of gab" is enough.


The similarities between critical incident negotiations and the
therapies employed by mental health professionals form a strong
basis for cross-training. Therapeutic communication enhances the
ability of both  mental health professionals and law enforcement
negotiators to resolve potentially volatile situations. 
Many law enforcement agencies currently contract with mental
health professionals to provide various services. Teaching the
lessons of therapeutic communication to critical incident
negotiators could be a valuable addition to the list.
_______________
Endnotes

1 G.D. Fuselier, "Emerging Role for the Clinical Psychologist,"
Professional Psychology:  Research and Practice, vol. 19, no. 2,
175-179.

2 D.R. Evans, M.T. Hearn, M.R. Uhlemann, and A.E. Ivey, Essential
Interviewing:  A Programmed Approach to Effective Communication,
2d ed. (Pacific Grove, CA:  Brooks/Cole, 1984).

3 H. Schlossberg, hostage negotiation seminar presented by the
Louisville Division of Police, Louisville, KY, September 1991.

4 R.A. Bell, F.J. Lanceley, T.B. Feldmann, P.W. Johnson, W.
Cheek, and C.R. Lewis, "Improving Hostage Negotiation Strategies: 
An Empirical Study of Aircraft Hijackers," American Journal of
Preventive Psychiatry and Neurology, vol. 2 no. 1, 1-5.

5 D.A. Soskis and C.R. Van Zandt, "Hostage Negotiation:  Law
Enforcement's Most Effective Nonlethal Weapon," Behavioral
Sciences and the Law, vol. 4, no. 4, 429.

6 R.M. Gist and J.D. Perry, "Perspectives on Negotiations in
Local Jurisdictions Negotiation Strategies for Escalated
Situations," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, vol. 52, no. 12, 5-9.

7 T.A. Johnson,  "A Role for the Behavioral Scientist in Hostage
Negotiation Incidents," Journal of Forensic Sciences, vol. 23,
no. 4, 797-803.

______________
SIDEBAR 1

Communication Techniques

The 14 communication techniques are divided into three categories
of response types.

Listening Responses

     Clarification
     Paraphrase
     Reflection
     Summarization
     Primary-level empathy

Action Responses

     Open-ended probe
     Closed probe
     Confrontation
     Interpretation
     Information-giving
     Instructions

Sharing Responses

     Self-disclosure
     Immediacy
     Reinforcement

_______________
SIDEBAR 2

Sample Responses

The 14 communication techniques within the three response types
provide negotiators with a wide choice of responses to statements
made by subjects. Negotiators should carefully gauge the status
of the incident and the mental state of the subject before
deciding which technique to employ at any given time. The
technique used should direct the subject to respond in a way that
diffuses tensions and keeps the negotiations process moving.
For example, negotiators can draw from the communication
techniques to choose the most appropriate way to respond to a
subject who states: "Nothing is going right. My life is a mess."

                 LISTENING RESPONSES

Clarification

Negotiator: By 'nothing' do you mean every last thing or just a
lot of things that are really important to you?

Subject: No, I don't guess 'everything' is going badly. At least
I've got my kid. She means the world to me.

Paraphrase

Negotiator: It sounds like things aren't working out for you and
your world is upside down.

Subject: Yeah, upside down.

Reflection
Negotiator: You're feeling angry and frustrated.

Subject: I guess I am. I hadn't realized just how mad I was.
Summarization

Negotiator: Things are piling up and going badly for you_it
sounds like a mess.

Subject: That's for sure.

Primary-level empathy

Negotiator: Everything seems to be falling apart, and you're
angry and frustrated.

Subject: You're right.

                        ACTION RESPONSES

Open-ended probe

Negotiator: A mess?

Subject: It would take all day to tell you how messed up my life
is.

Closed probe

Negotiator: Would you say this is the worst period you've ever
gone through?

Subject: Yes.

Confrontation

Negotiator: I'm confused. You said things aren't going right, but
you also told me you and your wife were getting back together.

Subject: Well, maybe some things are getting better.
Interpretation

Negotiator: I wonder if your short temper doesn't work against
you, you know, makes people not want to be around you, gets you
into fights, and makes your boss think you're not a good worker.

Subject: I don't know. Sometimes I think maybe I am my own worst
enemy.

Information-giving

Negotiator: At mid-life, most men go through a period of
uncertainty about their life, and they often can evaluate it too
harshly.

Subject: I didn't think anyone ever felt the way I do.

Instructions

Negotiator: Take a deep breath and hold it for 30 seconds. See if
that eases the pressure a little.

Subject: That never works for me, but I don't know what else to
do when I get this way.

                    SHARING RESPONSES

Self-disclosure

Negotiator: I felt the same way 5 years ago when I was going
through my divorce.

Subject: How do I get through it?

Immediacy

Negotiator: When you say that, in that way, you sound like you
are looking for pity.

Subject: I don't want anybody's pity.

Reinforcement

Negotiator: You told me you were in the Marines. You got through
boot camp; it had to be tough. Not everyone makes it through. I
think that says a lot about your ability to tough it out.

Subject: Do you really think I can?


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