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Related Experiment Videos

Assault on the therapist.

R M Whitman, B B Armao, O B Dent

    The American Journal of Psychiatry
    |April 1, 1976
    PubMed
    Summary
    This summary is machine-generated.

    Psychotherapists reported that a small percentage of patients pose a threat or assault them. While attacks are infrequent, developing coping techniques for assaultive patients is recommended for crisis situations.

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    Area of Science:

    • Psychiatry
    • Psychology
    • Social Work

    Background:

    • Patient aggression poses risks in mental health settings.
    • Understanding the prevalence of threats and assaults is crucial for therapist safety.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To quantify the frequency of patient threats and assaults against psychotherapists.
    • To inform the development of safety protocols for mental health professionals.

    Main Methods:

    • A questionnaire survey was distributed to 101 psychotherapists across psychiatry, psychology, and social work.
    • Data collected focused on patient-posed threats and actual assaults over a one-year period.

    Main Results:

    • 9.2% of patients presented a threat to others.

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  • 1.9% posed a physical threat to the therapist.
  • 0.63% of patients actually assaulted their therapist.

    • Conclusions:

    • Therapist assaults, though infrequent, are a near-certain occupational hazard.
    • There is a need for effective coping strategies and crisis management techniques for dealing with assaultive patients.