CPI Training for Dementia Care Providers

Person-centered dementia care training that gives staff the language, confidence, and de-escalation skills to support patients through distress behaviors without restraint. 

Crisis Prevention Institute has trained more than 17 million professionals since 1980, including the dementia care workforce in memory care communities, skilled nursing facilities, hospices, and home health agencies across the United States. 

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CPI Courses

Dementia Training Programs

CPI’s online dementia training certificates focus on the Care, Welfare, Safety, and Security of individuals living with dementia and their care staff. Caregivers are taught empathetic approaches to behavior management that prioritize quality of life.

Dementia Capable Care Training
Teaches staff to safely de-escalate distressing situations and reduce pharmacological interventions with a person-centered approach to dementia care.
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Verbal Intervention Training
Ideal for dementia care roles that require a hands-off approach. Staff learn verbal de-escalation strategies informed by an understanding of the reason behind the distressing behavior.
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Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Training
Teaches staff caring for dementia patients how to de-escalate crisis situations with both restrictive and nonrestrictive techniques.
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Make an Impact with CPI

The Need for Effective Dementia Training

More people are living longer with dementia. The professionals supporting them deserve training that matches the complexity of the work. Effective dementia care training reduces the strain on caregivers, improves the day-to-day experience of patients, and shows up in the outcomes that families notice first.

Improving quality of life
Dementia training empowers caregivers to provide personalized care that greatly improves the quality of life of those they care for. This approach creates a supportive environment that preserves patients’ dignity and independence instead of restricting it.
Fostering empathy and understanding
Empathy is harder to teach than technique, and harder still to sustain in a 12-hour shift. Crisis Prevention Institute's dementia training gives care partners the framework to see the person beneath the diagnosis, which is what makes trust possible.
Reducing caregiver stress
Distress behaviors are challenging to navigate, and one of the top reasons dementia care staff leave the role. Crisis Prevention Institute's dementia courses equip your team to manage these behaviors with confidence, which protects both job satisfaction and the retention of the experienced staff your patients rely on.

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Our Training Approach

Our train-the-trainer framework increases fidelity and adoption and ensures the most relevant training is delivered based on roles and risk levels.

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Impacting Organizational Growth and Quality of Dementia Care

Leaders at St. Croix Hospice share the positive impact Dementia Capable Care Training has had on their organization’s growth and the quality of care for the individuals they serve.

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Improving Our Communication: With Those Living With Dementia

As facility and family caregivers, it’s important to understand the person living with dementia and not just their current stage of cognition. Our free resource provides some helpful strategies to increase your awareness and improve how you communicate with individuals experiencing cognitive challenges.

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What Dementia Care De-escalation Covers

Here’s what evidence-based dementia care training looks like, the techniques staff learn, and how Crisis Prevention Institute's approach compares with the questions families and regulators are asking.

Dementia-specific de-escalation is the practice of reducing distress in a person living with cognitive change, before that distress escalates into resistance, aggression, or harm. It draws on verbal communication, environmental adjustment, and an understanding of the unmet need driving the behavior. Crisis Prevention Institute's Dementia Capable Care model teaches this approach across every cognitive stage. 

Verbal de-escalation in dementia care prioritizes tone, pace, and simple language over reasoning. A resident in cognitive distress may not be able to follow logic or remember a recent agreement. Effective communication anchors the person in the moment in their emotional state to support them in a dignified way they can understand.

A person-centered approach treats distress behavior as communication. Rather than asking how to stop the behavior, staff are trained to ask what the person is trying to express, and to respond to the unmet need. This reduces reliance on physical intervention to improve  quality of life. 

Dementia Capable Care blends Claudia Allen's Cognitive Disabilities Model with Tom Kitwood's framework of person-centered care, layered with Crisis Prevention Institute's verbal de-escalation techniques. The 2nd Edition program is available in a blended format, equipping staff to support residents at every stage of care 

Crisis Prevention Institute's Dementia Capable Care 2nd Edition certification course takes three hours of online learning followed by one day of live virtual training with a CPI instructor. Certification holds for two years before renewal. Once certified, staff are authorized to teach the program across their organization. 

Crisis Prevention Institute Across Care Settings

Dementia care looks different in a memory care community than in a hospice or a multi-site senior living organization. Crisis Prevention Institute's training adapts to the specific risks, regulatory requirements, and family expectations of each setting.

Memory care

Person-centered training for staff supporting residents through every stage of cognitive change.

Skilled nursing and LTC

Training that aligns with CMS expectations for person-centered dementia care

Home health and hospice

Communication and de-escalation training for staff working in residents' own homes or end-of-life care.

Multi-site senior

Train-the-trainer programs that scale consistent dementia care training across every facility.

The Sustainable Impact of CPI Training

Our evidence-based crisis prevention programs have measurable impacts on the organizations we serve.

98%

of customers have improved behavioral responses with dementia patients

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73%

of customers agree dementia care training has provided a competitive edge

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75%

improvement in dementia care

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Schedule a Consultation

Learn how CPI’s dementia care training programs can benefit your organization.