Reducing Restraint and Seclusion Through the Six Core Strategies

The use of restraint and seclusion in mental health care presents significant clinical, ethical, and safety challenges. While least-restrictive, recovery-oriented approaches are well supported in the literature, sustained practice change requires consistent workflows, reliable data, and real-time visibility to support prevention and accountability.

This session describes how Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences operationalized the Six Core Strategies framework through a digitally enabled, multi-year transformation focused on restraint and seclusion reduction. Standardized electronic medical record workflows, real-time dashboards, automated alerts, and evidence-based prevention tools were embedded into daily clinical practice to support proactive risk identification and timely intervention. Central to this work was the integration of the Dynamic Appraisal of Situation Aggression (DASA), structured aggression prevention protocols, standardized debriefing, and unit-level data validation to reinforce accountability and continuous improvement.

Participants will learn how leadership, governance, workforce development, consumer collaboration, and data-driven clinical workflows were intentionally aligned to support sustained reductions in restraint and seclusion, enhance staff safety, and strengthen patient-centered care. Key lessons learned will be shared to illustrate how technology, data, and change management can be leveraged to advance safer, more compassionate, and least-restrictive models of mental health care.