One of the central tenets of the Mandt philosophy is the concept of ‘Respect’. As a Mandt Faculty member, I have tried, for years to help people understand how to treat people with respect. It is easy for staff to identify when they believe a client or other staff person is being disrespectful to them, but they may find identifying evidence of respect a trickier process.

I may talk to a person with kindness and appropriate tone, but they may not feel respected. For example, when staff intervene in a crisis situation, even when we utilize all of our “Mandt Training Techniques” the individual still may feel they were disrespected and caused them to “lose face” … I have to accept their feelings. All feelings must be accepted, even though I may not understand those feelings. One of the main reasons we teach the importance of debrief with all involved after a crisis is so all feelings can be discussed and appreciated.

Respect is something we all want to believe we are good at, but when you don’t feel respected by people around your understanding will change.

Randel C. Goad – Mandt Faculty Supervisor