Hassockfield Secure Training Centre in Durham adopted Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) two years ago. The Youth Justice Board (YJB) is now evaluating the scheme.
Trevor Wilson-Smith, director of Hassockfield, said: "Now that TCI's an embedded part of our culture, I can say categorically there has been a marked reduction in the use of force."
Most uses of restraint now recorded are "little more than a guiding hand on the shoulder," he added.
TCI was developed by Cornell University in the US. It helps defuse crisis situations by training staff to use different methods to calm the young person.
A spokesman for the YJB said minimising confrontation was important. In 2004, 14-year-old Adam Rickwood hanged himself after being restrained at Hassockfield Secure Training Centre.
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