--- title: "CPI training alternatives: comparing de-escalation options" description: "For hospitals, schools and care providers comparing de-escalation training: how CPI, Mandt and VR or AI rehearsal differ, and how they fit together." canonical: https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/cpi-training-alternatives --- [Learn](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn) / Guides # CPI training alternatives: comparing de-escalation options Compare on delivery: who teaches, how often staff practise, and what evidence each option produces. The search ## A renewal date, and a wider look Instructor certification is due for renewal, a new site is opening, and the education lead asks what else is available. The useful comparison starts with the moments staff face. A carer walks beside an unsettled resident. A caseworker sits with a client in distress. A visitor explains a problem at the counter. The options ## What each program is Each described from the program’s own published material. A trainer faces a small seated class. ### CPI certification CPI uses a [train-the-trainer model](https://www.crisisprevention.com/our-training-approach/): CPI instructors train selected staff to become the organisation’s Certified Instructors, who then run ongoing training with CPI courses and materials. Certified Instructors renew every two years. A corrections officer in the corridor. ### CPI Prevention First [Prevention First](https://www.crisisprevention.com/our-programs/prevention-first/) is a thirty-minute, on-demand online course in four lessons for everyone working in health care. CPI describes it as foundational de-escalation training, separate from full certification. An instructor briefs two trainees on site. ### The Mandt System The [Relational, Conceptual and Technical course](https://www.mandtsystem.com/programs/relational-conceptual-technical-level/) runs over four days in person for new instructors, with two hours of eLearning afterwards. Instructors recertify every two years and students every year. A facilitator and two people at a table. ### Programs on a government list North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services publishes [approved curricula for de-escalation strategies](https://www.ncdhhs.gov/approved-curricula-8-10-23/open). It includes CPI, The Mandt System, MOAB, Satori, Safe Crisis Management, Therapeutic Crisis Intervention, EBPI and Mindset among many others, a useful starting list because a government keeps it. A customer at the counter, seen in headset. ### VR and AI rehearsal Staff practise the conversation itself with a simulated person who responds to what they say, in a [VR de-escalation scenario](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/vr-de-escalation-training) or with an [AI roleplay partner](https://peopletechrevolution.com/ai/ai-roleplay-practice) in a browser. A debrief follows, and the next attempt can run on the next shift. The requirement ## Start from what your rule asks for Some rules name practice and a debrief. That shapes the delivery a provider needs, whatever the brand. A clinician crouches to a child’s height. ### United States [California’s health care workplace violence standard](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/3342.html) includes an opportunity to practise with the colleagues staff work with, and a meeting to debrief it. [Nevada law](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/NRS-618.html) asks medical facilities for the same. See the [state-by-state US training rules](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/workplace-violence-training-united-states) and the [Joint Commission workplace violence requirements](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/joint-commission-workplace-violence). A parent and clinician, in a recreated Mater setting. ### Australia and the United Kingdom Australian hospitals work to [NSQHS Standards](https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/standards/nsqhs-standards/comprehensive-care-standard) that ask for [de-escalation strategies](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/nsqhs-action-5-34), alongside [occupational violence duties](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/occupational-violence-australia) in each state. NHS organisations work to NHS England’s [violence prevention and reduction standard](https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/violence-prevention-and-reduction-standard/). Using them together ## Certification and rehearsal do different jobs Physical skills are taught hands on by certified instructors. The conversation before them can be rehearsed every week, on any shift. A trainee talks a colleague through it. ### Where each one fits Keep the certified program for physical intervention and accreditation. Add rehearsal for the frequency your rules describe, so the verbal skill gets practice between classes. An educator points something out to a trainee. ### Keep one record Record who practised, which scenario, how many attempts and what changed. [Workplace violence training records](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/workplace-violence-training-records) sets out what to keep. How rehearsal runs ## Short sessions, close to the work A session fits inside a shift, and the scenario is built from situations your own staff describe. A staff member starts another attempt. A teacher rehearses a corridor conversation. A lawyer rehearses a hard first interview. Questions ## What buyers ask when they compare Short answers, in the order the questions come up. A caseworker listens to a man and interpreter. ### How do we compare cost? Compare cost per competent worker rather than per seat: how many staff practise, how often, and what record comes out. ### Do we still need instructor certification? Keep it wherever your rules call for physical intervention training. Rehearsal gives the verbal component a place to run between classes. A nurse at a quiet ward station. ### Does an online module meet a rule that names practice? A rule that names practice and a debrief asks for both, whatever the format. Check the wording of your own rule first. ### Where do we start? Read what your own rule asks for, then see [de-escalation training for healthcare workers](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/de-escalation-training-healthcare) and [what the evidence on VR training shows](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/does-vr-training-work). - [Customer aggression training](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/customer-aggression-training) - [Occupational violence training](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/occupational-violence-aggression-training) - [School de-escalation training](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/school-de-escalation-training) - [Hospital de-escalation training](https://peopletechrevolution.com/work/industries/healthcare-medical) Comparing de-escalation training? [Open the contact form](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/cpi-training-alternatives#contact) Ask Simon’s Digital Twin a question ## Sources Each program and rule on its publisher’s own site. ### [Our Training Approach](https://www.crisisprevention.com/our-training-approach/) Crisis Prevention Institute The train-the-trainer model and the renewal every two years. ### [Prevention First Online Training](https://www.crisisprevention.com/our-programs/prevention-first/) Crisis Prevention Institute The on-demand format, the four lessons, and how it relates to full certification. ### [Relational, Conceptual and Technical course](https://www.mandtsystem.com/programs/relational-conceptual-technical-level/) The Mandt System Course length for new instructors and the recertification periods. ### [Approved Curricula for the Use of De-Escalation Strategies and Restrictive Interventions](https://www.ncdhhs.gov/approved-curricula-8-10-23/open) North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services The state list of approved programs, in alphabetical order. ### [Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/3342.html) California Code of Regulations, Title 8 Practice with the colleagues staff work with, and a meeting to debrief it. ### [Chapter 618: Occupational Safety and Health](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/NRS-618.html) Nevada Revised Statutes De-escalation training with practice among colleagues and a debrief of each session.