About the Course
Aggression is anger in action. Many health and human services clients and consumers become aggressive with caseworkers. Aggression could be the result of feelings of vulnerability, fear and frustration. Regardless of the reason, client aggression can put the safety of caseworkers at risk.
The four part series --- 360 SAFETY: Keeping Staff Safe by Helping Clients Feel Secure --- will empower your organization to create synergy with clients while ensuring physical and environmental safety for social workers. Participants learn practical strategies for prioritizing their physical safety, enabling them to focus on the client’s situation. Our system further empowers social workers to maintain their personal safety by emphasizing goal centric teamwork that provides emotional security to the client. As a result, clients often transform their energy of aggression into fuel for successful case plan completion.
Whether taken as a series or an individual course, the goal is to help participants better partner with clients while ensuring their own personal safety.
Session 1 - Field & Office safety
Learn vigilance and strategies that can be used in the office, during home visits, while walking to a vehicle, driving or navigating neighborhoods that prioritizes caseworker safety.
Session 2 - Environmental Safety
Learn how to keep workers protected from potential drug exposure. Also learn how to keep workers and their family’s safe from pests (bedbugs, roaches and mice) and pets (dogs, etc.) that may be encountered at a client’s residence all while keeping the client’s dignity in tact.
Session 3 - Therapeutic & Relational Security
Therapeutic and relational security is an engaging approach that allows clients to see the practitioner as a helper rather than an enforcer. Making clients feel safe and respected helps prevent agitation and escalation.
Session 4 - De-escalation
Learn the signs, indicators and cycle of a situation in escalation. Also learn de-escalation tactics to diffuse potentially dangerous situations.
Learning Objectives
1. Participants will understand the importance of teaming with those they serve by emphasizing goal centric teamwork to achieve case plan objectives while also enhancing their own personal safety.
2. Participants will understand the reality of violence in their work, the risk factors of workplace violence for caseworkers and the need to take measures for personal safety.
3. Participants will apply vigilance strategies during office and field interactions, on home visits and while navigating the neighborhoods in which our clients reside.
4. Participants will use verbal de-escalation tactics to diffuse potentially hostile and aggressive clients or strangers.