Books published by Edgework

Individuals suffering from psychiatric or substance use disorders sometimes display any one of a number of frightening behaviors: verbal outbursts, physical threats and even violence. In this comprehensive guidebook, Ellis Amdur walks families through a multitude of strategies they can use to keep themselves, and their mentally ill family member safe. Amdur's focus is based on behavior rather than diagnosis.The first sections of the book discuss specific behaviors ranging from such relatively minor irritants as reluctance to complete tasks and obsessive concerns to more troubling, pervasive syndromes such as psychosis, mania and disorganization. In one very important section, he discusses interactions with manipulative individuals, people who present danger to the psychological and physical well being of everyone in your family.In the second major section of the book, he focuses on us: what we can do to achieve a state of integrity and powerful calm. Rather than abstract pronouncements, he offers specific strategies, including a method of breathing that is for the purpose of maintaining one s center in crisis situations.He then moves on to direct face-to-face encounters, covering situations that can occur anywhere: in the community, at your residence, on the street, or even your car. Instruction includes how to handle tense situations before they deteriorate into chaos, and how to manage a crisis once it has started, whether it concerns an adult or a young person. He instructs you on how to instantly recognize what mode of aggression the person is in, and then, well-trained and practiced, how to almost instantaneously shift into the correct de- escalation tactic that fits the aggression one is facing.

Hostage negotiation is one of the most remarkable areas of law enforcement. Through a combination of tactical communication, empathic connection and, at times, subterfuge, negotiators persuade desperate, suicidal or homicidal individuals, often intoxicated or mentally ill, to relinquish their position of power and submit to police authority. In this book, the reader will find thirty different training scenarios that cover the gamut of mental illness and personality disorders, as well as common situations that lead otherwise ordinary people into desperation. Most of them are based on cases that one or the other of the authors have actually encountered. There are full instructions on how to set up the scenario, and how to brief the role player so that he or she plays it true-to-life. The scenarios are colorful, unpredictable, and multi-layered, and require active involvement of the secondary negotiator and the rest of the team for intelligence gathering. Just as a real situation can change radically when new information is acquired, most of the scenarios will have unexpected twists that require the negotiators to think on their feet, and sometimes diametrically change directions. Many include SWAT, and some are specifically crafted so that tactical officers can practice various skills during the scenarios, such as food deliveries, release of an injured hostage, delivery of the throw phone, or documents the subject has demanded. They can plant listening devices, or attempt to get a visual on the scene. Team leaders can program the negotiation exercise for 'failure,' something that neither SWAT nor the negotiators will be informed. When it is suddenly time to go, they must be ready to tactically respond. Although it is an educational read for anyone involved in crisis intervention - far beyond police work - it is written as a resource book for HNT/CNT teams.

Hostage negotiation is one of the most remarkable sub-specialties in the corrections environment. Through a combination of tactical communication, empathic connection and, at times, subterfuge, negotiators persuade desperate, suicidal or homicidal individuals, often intoxicated or mentally ill, to relinquish their position of power and submit to the authority of the correctional institution. This is the second book in Amdur and Eddy's series. It focuses specifically on the corrections environment. In this book, the reader will find thirty-two different training scenarios that cover the gamut of mental illness and personality disorders. Most of them are based on cases that one or the other of the authors have actually encountered. There are full instructions on how to set up the scenario, and how to brief the role player so that he or she plays it true-to-life. The scenarios are colorful, unpredictable, and multi-layered, and require active involvement of the secondary negotiator and the rest of the team for intelligence gathering. Just as a real situation can change radically when new information is acquired, most of the scenarios will have unexpected twists that require the negotiators to think on their feet, and sometimes diametrically change directions. Many include ERT, and some are specifically crafted so that tactical officers can practice various skills during the scenarios, such as food deliveries, release of an injured hostage, delivery of the throw phone, or documents the subject has demanded. They can plant listening devices, or attempt to get a visual on the scene. Team leaders can program the negotiation exercise for 'failure,' something that neither ERT nor the negotiators will be informed. When it is suddenly time to go, they must be ready to tactically respond. Although it is an educational read for anyone involved in crisis intervention, far beyond corrections work - it is written as a resource book for HNT/CNT teams.