A Clinician’s Mental Health

A description of your personal safety plan for your field education experienceApproximately 85 percent of social workers experience aggression during their career and 30 percent experience assault (National Association of Social Workers Massachusetts Chapter, n.d.). Often times these individuals engage on the negative thoughts or beliefs regarding their social worker (Regehr & Glancy, 2010). For example, some clients may stalk social workers due to the relationship they developed inside their mind. While most cases the client does not wish to cause harm, it is still important for social workers to develop a safety plan. In this case the first step would be to set boundaries with clients to reduce these negative tendencies. This may consist of making sure clients do not have any personal information. However, setting boundaries may not always be a barrier to these behaviors. Therefore, social workers should also be aware of their surroundings. This would consist of being aware when leaving work to make sure no one is following. In addition, to prevent this from happening social workers should never walk alone after dark when leaving work. This is important as many mental health professionals are at a higher risk for stalking (Regehr & Glancy, 2010). Thus, social workers should have a set safety plan when working in the field. In my field agency, my plan is to set boundaries with clients to keep the relationship professional. Another plan is to make sure that I do not leave the agency alone or without telling someone that I am leaving. I will also be keeping an eye on my surrounding area rather than looking down at my phone.

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