Hacks for Recognizing Escalation
The STAMP Hack—Staring, Tone and volume of voice, Anxiety, Mumbling, and Pacing
Posted in Hacks for Recognizing Escalation.
STAMP (Staring, Tone and volume of voice, Anxiety, Mumbling, and Pacing) is a set of assessment criteria created for emergency room nurses at the City College London based on their observations of violent patient behavior. Utilization of this tool is as simple as learning the acronym and observing the behavior of agitated participants. Clients exhibiting some or all of these factors are much more likely to become highly agitated and should be approached for de-escalation:
- S – Staring: Prolonged or intense staring can indicate heightened aggression or agitation. It can make others feel uncomfortable or threatened.
- T – Tone and Volume of Voice: Changes in tone or volume, such as speaking loudly, harshly, through clenched teeth, or with a threatening tone, can be a sign of agitation.
- A – Anxiety: Visible signs of anxiety, such as fidgeting, restlessness, or a tense posture, can indicate that a person is becoming agitated or distressed.
- M – Mumbling: Incoherent or under-the-breath speech can be a sign of frustration or agitation. It may indicate that the person is internalizing anger or struggling to communicate effectively.
- P – Pacing: Restless movements, such as pacing back and forth, can be a sign of agitation or an inability to remain calm.
Featured Hacks
These featured hacks highlight creative, practical solutions from harm reduction leaders on the ground. From DIY tools to clever workarounds, each one reflects the ingenuity, care, and real-world experience that keeps this movement alive.
Hacks for Staying Present
Featured in: Featured, De-Escalation In the Moment
As discussed in the part of the site on preventing escalation, it is essential for harm reduction workers to stay present and remain centered and relatively calm during escalated events. This is one of the hardest things to do, but staying present and centered during any kind of escalated situation at your harm reduction site is essential to de-escalation.
Edie Springer’s Worker Stances for Clients Who Use Drugs & Harm Reduction Worker: Best Practices
Featured in: Featured, Hacks for Preventing Escalation
Harm reduction immediately resonated for Edie, who was herself a former drug user and methadone patient. Faced with the devastation of HIV’s impact on drug-using communities, Edie fully embraced harm reduction and trained hundreds of harm reduction workers who have carried her legacy with them. She developed these worker stances in 1996 and they have been shared among many of us in the harm reduction community for generations.