Mental Health Practitioners in Danger?

[DoogieMD22]

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Have any of the practicing psychologists out there ever been afraid or felt threatened because of an unstable client? Have you ever worried that they may look up where you live and possibly hurt you or your family? I read this article in psychiatry times about the issue...
http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196902074

I'm not sure it would drive me away from the field, but it's scary stuff!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Yes I'm concerned, but it isn't going to dissuade me from practicing. There is violence everywhere, but I think if you take appropriate pre-cautions you can limit your risk.

*Unlist your personal information
*Do not work from home
*Work in an office setting with other people
*Mace / Pepper spray (I prefer a hand gun, but many aren't okay with them)

etc.

-t

 

[nononora]

An undergrad professor I know actually had a patient waiting for her in a van at a parking lot outside her workplace... with a rifle. IIRC, the professor had just declared the patient fit for imprisonment and he came back to say "thank you." Said professor noticed the van immediately when she opened the door to leave so she ran back inside and called the cops. It was a story she would tell her students every year, but not her husband.

Scary stuff.

 

[psychanon]

Honestly, it's not the highest of my concerns. Any profession is going to have a slight potential for danger. If you work retail, you could get robbed at gunpoint. If you drive a delivery truck, you could get into a traffic accident. If you're a medical doctor, you could get infected with a disease. But these types of incidents are extremely rare. There is a stigma surrounding mental illness, and part of that is the idea that individuals with mental disorders are often danger. This is rarely the case, and unless you plan on working with the most severe populations (e.g., violent forensic populations), I wouldn't be too concerned.

 

[PsyDwannab]

Redesigning the the office to have your chair near the exit/door (which can be pushed open in case of emergency)

Panic button that does both: making loud noise and informing clerk/police

Metal detector?

 

[chaos]

If you're on an inpatient unit, especially one that gets a lot of psychotic patients, especially drug related psychosis, there is definitely some potential for violence...I've seen it happen. Often it's actually violence toward other patients but I've seen people flip out on staff too...it only compounds the problem that they then get surrounded and held down and forcibly injected with haldol/ativan. Anyway the bottom line: I don't want to work on an inpatient unit for my internship. Those places are totally not representative of the mentally ill in general...you get the most severe cases, and the most severe reactions.

 

[blindblonde]

Great tips so far. I'm just going to add another comment to this discussion.

An undergrad professor who is a practicing clinical psychologist told me a story when he worked in the prison system. Apparently, this guy was trying to threaten him and rattled off his address (even though it was unlisted). He is still not sure how he got that info... In any case, the main thing he warned us was from that experience, you should never have your patient (esp. someone that can likely cause you physical injury) to come between you and the door. Arrange your office so that you can leave and get help if necessary. Granted, this would be unlikely, but you never know....

Personally, I would take precautions, but not be overwhelmingly concerned. I seriously doubt a situation like psychiatrist in The Sixth Sense would happen in reality. Yet it is always good to be prepared for what may happen if rapport fails.