Last updated: August 2026
SPEC (Safe Practice Effective Communication) is a national four-day training programme supporting least restrictive practice in Te Whatu Ora mental health inpatient units, while ADP is a commercially available framework that can be customised for organisations across a wide range of sectors. They overlap in areas such as prevention and de-escalation, but differ significantly in their setting, availability and scope.
If your organisation works in mental health, addiction, disability or care services in New Zealand, you may have come across references to “SPEC” in tenders, job descriptions or best-practice discussions — often alongside terms like “least restrictive practice” and “therapeutic communication.” Understanding what SPEC is, who it’s for, and how it differs from a commercial framework like Resolution Education’s ADP will help you choose the right training for your team.
This article explains both approaches, where each fits, and how to decide which is appropriate for your organisation. It is not about one being “better” than the other — they are designed for different settings and different groups of workers.
What Is the SPEC Framework?
SPEC (Safe Practice Effective Communication) is a four-day, Te Whatu Ora health-localities-based national training programme supporting least restrictive practice in mental health inpatient units. It includes communication and de-escalation, collaborative ways of working, restraint minimisation, personal restraint and breakaway techniques.
SPEC was launched in late 2016 and was initially developed by Counties Manukau before being adopted and adapted across other districts to ensure national consistency in personal restraint training. A National SPEC Collaborative Governance Board oversees the implementation and development of SPEC across New Zealand, and the programme is led by the Directors of Mental Health Nursing with involvement from other key stakeholders. The programme is grounded in best-available evidence and supports the goal of reducing restrictive practices, with a strong emphasis on prevention and therapeutic communication. (Source: Te Pou — Safe Practice Effective Communication.)
Key elements and principles of SPEC include:
- Therapeutic communication and de-escalation
- Collaborative ways of working
- Person-centred and trauma-informed practice
- Responsiveness to Māori, underpinned by Te Tiriti principles
- Restraint minimisation and least restrictive practice
- Personal restraint and breakaway techniques
- Avoidance of pain-compliance techniques.
SPEC is a Te Whatu Ora health-localities-based national programme primarily focused on mental health inpatient settings. The programme also uses a train-the-trainer model, supported by SPEC Master Trainers and a national fidelity process. Unlike commercially available training programmes, SPEC is not generally offered as an open commercial training option to organisations across all sectors.
What Is the ADP Framework?
ADP (Awareness, De-escalation, Protection) is Resolution Education’s proprietary training framework, customisable to any industry and available to organisations across New Zealand and internationally.
The ADP framework underpins all of Resolution Education’s training and is built on three modules. Awareness focuses on recognising the early signs that a situation is escalating and identifying what is triggering it. De-escalation covers practical verbal and non-verbal strategies to calm a heightened person while staying calm yourself. Protection provides safe, non-punitive techniques to keep both the worker and the other person safe if a situation turns physical, used only as a last resort.
Unlike a single-sector programme, ADP is fully customisable to each organisation’s environment, risks, learning outcomes and workforce. Resolution Education continually refines the framework using incident report data and analysis of workplace aggression trends, and delivers it across a wide range of sectors — including healthcare, aged care, disability and support services, education, government and councils, community services, emergency services, retail and more. You can read more on the A.D.P. Framework page.
How Do SPEC and ADP Compare?
The core difference is availability and scope: SPEC is a national programme supporting least restrictive practice in Te Whatu Ora mental health inpatient settings, while ADP is a commercially available framework that can be customised for organisations across a wide range of sectors.
Both approaches share a great deal of common ground. Each places prevention and de-escalation first, treats physical restraint as a genuine last resort, does not rely on pain-compliance techniques, and is grounded in least-restrictive-practice principles. Both also recognise the importance of trauma-informed care and early recognition of escalation.
Where they differ is in who they are for and how they are accessed:
| Factor | SPEC | ADP |
|---|---|---|
| Best suited to | Te Whatu Ora mental health inpatient settings | Organisations across all sectors, including those outside the public health system |
| Availability | Te Whatu Ora health-localities-based national programme | Available commercially to any organisation across New Zealand |
| Focus | Least restrictive practice in mental health inpatient units, including de-escalation, restraint minimisation, personal restraint and breakaway techniques | Occupational violence and aggression across any workplace setting |
| Customisation | National programme focused on consistency in personal restraint training | Fully customisable to each organisation’s sector, risks and needs |
| Delivery | Four-day programme, with a train-the-trainer model | Flexible — face-to-face, eLearning, and train-the-trainer options |
Which Training Is Right for My Team?
If you work in a Te Whatu Ora mental health inpatient setting, SPEC is the national programme specifically designed to support least restrictive practice in that environment. If your organisation sits outside that setting, commercially available training such as ADP may be a more accessible option.
SPEC is specifically designed for Te Whatu Ora mental health inpatient settings, where national consistency in personal restraint training and alignment with least restrictive practice are important.
However, because SPEC is internal to the public health system and not generally available commercially, it is not an option for many organisations that still face occupational violence and aggression. Many organisations outside Te Whatu Ora mental health inpatient settings still need staff capability in de-escalation, least restrictive practice and, where relevant, safe restraint. This can include private mental health and addiction services, disability support, aged care, community services and other health and care providers. For these organisations, commercially available training such as ADP can provide an option tailored to their particular workplace risks and workforce.
If SPEC or another named training programme is specified in a tender, contract or organisational requirement, check the exact wording before selecting an alternative. A different programme may provide comparable or complementary skills, but organisations should confirm whether an alternative is permitted and whether any specific training or competency requirements must be met.
Conclusion
SPEC and ADP are both prevention-focused approaches that emphasise de-escalation and least restrictive practice, but they serve different settings. SPEC is a national Te Whatu Ora health-localities-based programme supporting least restrictive practice in mental health inpatient units. ADP is a commercially available, customisable framework designed for organisations across a wide range of sectors. For organisations outside the settings served by SPEC, ADP provides an accessible option for practical, workplace-specific de-escalation and safety training.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does SPEC stand for?
SPEC stands for Safe Practice Effective Communication. It is a four-day, Te Whatu Ora health-localities-based national training programme supporting least restrictive practice in mental health inpatient units. It includes communication and de-escalation, collaborative ways of working, restraint minimisation, personal restraint and breakaway techniques.
Can my organisation access SPEC training?
SPEC is a Te Whatu Ora health-localities-based national training programme focused on mental health inpatient units and is not generally offered as open commercial training across sectors. Organisations outside that setting should check whether SPEC is available or required for their circumstances. Where it isn’t, commercially available training such as Resolution Education’s ADP may be an alternative, depending on the organisation’s requirements.
Is ADP a replacement for SPEC?
No. ADP is not a replacement for SPEC, and it is not intended to be. SPEC is a national programme supporting least restrictive practice in Te Whatu Ora mental health inpatient settings. ADP is a separate, flexible framework for the many organisations outside that system that still need evidence-based de-escalation and restraint training tailored to their own sector.
What do SPEC and ADP have in common?
Both prioritise prevention and de-escalation, treat physical restraint as a last resort, avoid pain-compliance techniques, and are grounded in least-restrictive-practice principles. Both also value trauma-informed care and the early recognition of escalation. The main differences lie in who can access them and how tailored they are to a specific organisation.
Which sectors does Resolution Education’s ADP training cover?
ADP is used across a wide range of sectors in New Zealand, including healthcare, aged care, disability and support services, education, government