Blog 5

Chapter 11 :

Chapter out line: Handiling Anger

How to address and Disarm Anger

3 reasons for Anger

+Anger concerning agency procedures

+Anger concerning something you have said or done

+Fear/Client

+Exhaustion/Client

+Overwhelmed/Client

+Confusion/Client

+the need for attention/Client

Many factor and reasons can attribute to your clients emotional stability. Situations may not always be in our control to prevent however we can manage the consequence. We will with time and practice to effectiveliy de-escalate a potentially volatile situation should it arise.

Is Disarming Important?

When the client’s anger cannot be prevented or anticipated we must attempt to disarm and de-escalate as well as possible the following will list a few options to always remember.

            Always Remember the following…

+Eliminating obstacles for a better understanding

+Show respect to the client

+The worker will gain a better understanding

+Opportunity to practice empathy (Always practice in every situation)

+Redirection to a solution.

Remember the phrase” the bark is worse than the bite” Often anger comes across or is portrayed to be worse than it really is. The client may be less upset than they really sounded and can be de-escalated to an extent.

#1 Mistake to AVIOD

Don’t take it personally!... This is easier said than done especially when dealing with anger. It is too often common for social workers to take the anger personally and respond in such manner. In defense of the worker some clients can be difficult to deal with. When anger is responded to with more anger the working relationship can have a detrimental falling out with bitter feelings being held by both worker and client.

Reality Check-Expectations for Communication

Workers often believe that their client will never be upset always be appreciative and every person will be happy. This is a trap. As with normal daily life in the world every person is different and that is exactly how it will be during our appointments with our clients. We must remember to not take any emotional outbursts as a personal attack but rather be concerned as to what the problem may be to cause such an emotive reaction.

Disarming in 4 easy steps

+Be appreciative

+Inquire for more info

+Find some common ground to agree on

+Focus on the solution

(This is easier read and studied than completed on an angry situation but since this cannot be practiced it must be done as the situation presents it unfortunately the practice time is during a volatile emotional situation.)

Common trip-falls

            Always avoid…

            Try not to become defensive (easier said than done)

            Don’t be facetious-Don’t be sarcastic

            Don’t patronize- don’t act superior

            Don’t grill the client

Information

Always take every opportunity to gain information. The more info we gather the better we are armed to handle a situation, understand and effectively manage a problem. We can read between the lines of what is being said and or not said to get to the route of the problem and effectually and collaboratively formulate a solution.

Managing the Anger

The clients outburst cannot always be predicted other than the simple fact that it can escalate further. A client can often become more and more upset and go from anger, threats and physical harm. It is common knowledge that these types of situations occur often in professions dealing with the public.

Often we are essential in this process. We are the front line so to speak to de-escalating angry outburst. Often the client is not upset with you personally but may be yelling at you. Your reaction, tone and movements can greatly help in reducing the anger level. By speaking in a softer tone or slightly lower level, moving slowly (having an open and non confrontational posture) and listening while remaining calm can give us valuable tools in regaining emotional composure.   

Article in Review…

It is common knowledge that social workers may or can sometimes be difficult and overwhelmed. Many movies, shows and portrayals show the worker as an over worked, underpaid and abused person that may “snap” at any time. It often shows the worker as being ill and hateful. This is accurate to an extent. The worker is over worked and overwhelmed, underpaid and at times abused and if self care is not taken in some way to vent the frustration then this can be the case. In the clip it showed a young mother with several children requesting assistance. The mother stated that the children had three separate fathers and none of which were paying any child support. The mother refused to pursue that issue. She had a boyfriend who was unemployed but staying with them. She was unable to buy groceries and proper nutrition for her girls. She was seemingly frustrated with the situation, tired and had her hands full taking the children with her everywhere.

Upon entering the DHS building and after completing the proper forms the worker received notification of the request and prepared to start a new intake. The worker was just coming off a coffee break with other workers. The worker and her colleges were discussing the much distorted fact that the situation she was about to deal with as being a rising trend and is largely do to lack of values. When the worker met the mother as the children began to touch various things on her desk and shuffling important papers. The mother was fussing at the children to stop and the worker seemed to remain calm other than some facial expressions of getting upset.

After filling out the initial first pages of the assessment the worker began to ask more questions and discovered the young unwed mother of three; all with three separate fathers and living with a boyfriend. Now at that point the worker seems to “snap”, she became very upset and scolded the children for touching her paperwork. She then began to question the mother in a harsh manner using sever wrong ‘I’ messages. The worker sounded as if she was the moral compass and the young lady was in the wrong for allowing herself to get in such a predicament. As the anxiety level rose for the worker so did it for the client. By the end of the clip both the worker and the young mother were upset and quite loud.

Not only did the working relationship suffer but the loud nature of the situation cast a black cloud on the potential clients in the waiting room. It showed one older female as thinking out loud that “if they treat her like that then I am gonna get treated like that”. It showed the older female leaving the DHS building without receiving much needed nutrition assistance because she felt as if she was asking for a “hand out” she assumed this after over hearing part of the situation with the worker and previous client.

Video Link

Question…

I completely understand the concept but my question is when do you seek assistance? Since this can only be practiced during a situation how do we handle it when we are in the middle of the situation? In the video it showed a worker that obviously needed a break. She should have stepped away from the situation to put her feelings aside and work with the client in an objective manner to resolve the issue. Is it common for a worker to lose their cool in the middle of an assessment and is it neglectful on the workers part for starting an assessment in an emotionally compromised state?