This presentation focuses on helping staff working with individuals struggling with mental health and substance use disorders. It identifies strategies for successful verbal de-escalation of patients who may have difficulty managing their behavior and emotions as a result of struggling with these disorders. It also introduces staff to a different “Lens” to look at both the patients we work with as well as themselves in order to meet the diverse emotional and treatment needs of this population. This training has a primary focus to “inspire change” in both our patients and our approach to supporting recovery from mental health and substance use disorders.