Integrating behavioral, psychodynamic, recovery-oriented, and trauma-informed principles to decrease aggressive...

Positive behavioral support plans have been employed since the 1980s in the service of those with developmental disabilities and in school systems and show efficacy for decreasing challenging behaviors and facilitating skill building. Recent years have seen an increased use of positive behavior support (PBS) technology with adults who experience serious mental illness. Inpatient psychiatric units can be traumatizing places as a consequence of the acuity of units and their use of containment methods to address challenging behaviors, such as aggression against others and self-injury. This has resulted in socially just movements from coercive measures in inpatient care, informed by psychotherapeutic, trauma-informed, and recovery-oriented principles that emphasize safety, person-centered values, and developing a life of meaning while ensuring trustworthiness, collaboration, and empowerment. This article describes the effectiveness of a trauma-informed and recovery-oriented PBS approach, informed by psychotherapeutic principles, in the treatment of individuals with serious mental illness on an inpatient unit in decreasing the frequency and intensity of challenging behaviors. The PBS approach is also founded on the ideals of social justice that all individuals have the right to equity and to the pursuit of a meaningful life in society. This is especially true of persons who experience the most marginalization, such as those who are involuntarily hospitalized and who face coercive measures, and who deserve interventions to help them live a life of meaning. Findings suggest that this psychotherapy integration approach leads to significant decreases in aggressive behaviors while decreasing the likelihood of exposure to traumatic experiences for patients and staff alike. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).