What is the best way to deal with an Emotionally Disturbed Person esp when they are violent or do not understand?

Be just as violent and MAKE them understand.

I work in a retail grocery store. (5 years) and we have a few regulars who are EDP, 5051's w/e you want to call them.
For what ever reason, they all liked me, and would only deal with me and no other employee. I just respected all them and let them speak there mind, and I would try to agree with them the most I could.
One lady thought that if people were standing to close to her, that we would take all the oxygen around her and she would sufficate.
There was only one EDP that we would have to call the police for, and she wouldent talk, she would just walk around the store arguing with herself and then she would start to punch herself in the face, pretty badly. But she would never speak to anyone.

Hope this helps :)

Just recently an officer was telling me about some training he did about dealing with EDPs. He said it was REALLY helpful.

I'll see if I can find out what it was and who offered it.

Not too long ago I went out on a guy that was trippin on "Shrooms", and was destroying his friends house. When my patrner and I got there his friend said he was inside and very violent. I let my partner handle things until he started talking about the EMT'S are coming and he needed to tell us if he took anything else because if he did and they gave him the wrong medication it could KILL HIM!!!!!!! That's when I started TRIPPIN not believing what I just heard. Never talk about death around someone that's trippin.....COMMON SENSE. Anyway I spoke softly and kept my distance, even asking his permission at every move I made, let them think they're in control. They had to inject him to bring him down, after his girlfriend talked him into it by phone, and that was a trip in itself!

The training Chaplain Kenny was talking about from the Rochester PD was started by Sgt Eric Weaver who is now retired. It is an axcellent training. It started out as a 40 hr training similar to that of the training Memphis PD does but they expanded it to 80 hrs of training. As Non sworn employee I attended the first class that was 80 hrs. PDs from around Monroe County, jail employees, ambulance personnel, and vicitm assistance counselors such as myself attended the class. We all left with a wealth of information. Because of thre trainings, RPD has found injuries to both the EDP and LEOs went down as did SRR (Subject Resistance Reports). It doesn't solve everything but it has helped. Whenever they have a class it fills quickly. Dan Beardini took over when Eric retired and has the same heart Eric did for the program and is a great resource. Even though I am a Victim Assistance counselor now with another PD, I have called him for guidance on some cases and he willingly works with me. In addition, one of the lead insructors is Dr. Don Kamin, Coordinator for Monroe County Mental Health. He is the "big enchilada" in Monroe County when it comes to MH. He also assists LE and helped me on a case that everything else had been tried.