CARE Series: Patient Violence in Psychosocial Care Settings - Ethical Considerations

Thursday, August 7, 2025, 12:00 PM - Monday, August 7, 2028, 1:00 PM

AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (1.00 hours), ANCC Nursing Contact Hours (1.00 hours), CME-Designated Participation Credit (1.00 hours)

Review of:

• De-escalation and escalation avoidance techniques for health care staff

• When and how to engage patients in anger management therapy

• Ethical considerations when patient needs and staff safety conflict

Presenter

Brian Bride, PhD, MSW, MPH
Hill Crest Foundation Endowed Academic Chair in Mental Health and Professor
School of Social Work, The University of Alabama

Dr. Bride is the Hill Crest Foundation Endowed Chair in Mental Health in the School of Social Work at the University of Alabama. His research has focused on the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative programs and practices in the areas of mental health, substance misuse, and HIV prevention and intervention. Dr. Bride is particularly passionate about his research related to the mental health and well-being of the behavioral health and social services workforces. He is internationally recognized for his work on the conceptualization, measurement, and epidemiology of secondary traumatic stress. He is the developer of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale, which has been translated into more than two dozen languages. Dr. Bride has been named as one of the “world’s top 2% of scientists” and among the “top 50 global social work scholars.” His work has been featured in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Newsweek, The Atlantic, and The Washington Post.

1. Describe one technique for de-escalation and one technique for escalation avoidance which health care staff can employ when treating patients engaging in aggressive behavior.
2. Identify two patient factors indicative of appropriateness for referral to anger management psychotherapy.
3. Summarize ethical considerations relevant to clinical decision-making when patient needs conflict with staff safety.

In support of improving patient care, Dartmouth Health is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team. 

American Medical Association (AMA)
Dartmouth Health designates this Enduring Material for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
Dartmouth Health designates this Enduring Material for a maximum of 1.00 ANCC contact hours. 

All other learners may claim CME-designated participation credit. Consult your professional licensing board regarding the applicability and acceptance of CME-designated participation credit for programs certified for credit by organizations accredited by Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Education.

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Bibliographic Material

• Bride, B.E., Choi, Y.J., Olin, I.W., & Roman, P.M. (2015). Patient violence towards counselors in substance use disorder treatment programs: Prevalence, predictors, and responses. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 57, 9-17.

   

• Cornaggia, C.M., Beghi, M., Pavone, F., & Barale, F. (2011). Aggression in psychiatry wards: A systematic review. Psychiatry Research, 189, 10-20.

   

• Dack, C., Ross, J., Papadopoulos, C., Stewart, D., & Bowers, L. (2013). A review and meta-analysis of the patient factors associated with psychiatric in-patient aggression. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 127, 255-268.  

   

• Hills, D., & Joyce, C. (2013). A review of research on the prevalence, antecedents, consequences, and prevention of workplace aggression in clinical medical practice. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 18, 554-569.

   

• Jussab, F., & Murphy, H. (2015). “I just can’t, I am afraud for my safety, I don’t know how to work with her”: Practitioners experiences of client violence and recommendations for future practice. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 46, 287-297.

   

• Lancot, N., & Guay, S. (2014). The aftermath of workplace violence among healthcare workers: A systematic literature review of the consequences. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 19, 492-501.

   

• Pretorius, L., & Herbst, A.G. (2022). International guidelines to inform policy development to address client violence in South Africa” an ATA-document analysis. BMC Health Services Research, 22, 1025.
  

Provider Contact Information
Provider contact information for questions regarding accreditation of the activity:

Center for Learning and Professional Development
ACE Office
Dartmouth Health
[email protected]

Mitigation of Relevant Financial Relationships

Dartmouth Health adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education.  Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity, including planners, faculty, authors, or others are required to disclose all financial relationships with ineligible companies^.  All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated prior to the commencement of the activity.

^Ineligible Company is any entity whose primary business purpose is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.