Aggressive behaviour

XYZ1000

Hello I was wondering if there is anyone that deals with aggressive people at work. If so how much anger is reasonable? I have recently started a job which involves mental health service users.
Is it ok to have to except other people's temper's and to feel intimidated? How do you deal with it. any help would be great thanks

Shoey1610

I don't now, but I did work in mental health for years. Over time, you will learn when people are being aggressive because they are ill and when people are being aggressive because they are !!!!!!. You work hard to help those who are ill to be cared for with dignity and respect and you set strong boundaries about what is unacceptable behaviour with the !!!!!!.

For example, I could understand and manage those who were calling me a 'f###ing !!!!!' because they were so paranoid they needed to be an inpatient and I was the one with the keys to the door. However, I have also been called a 'f###ing !!!!!' by a relative because they didn't agree with a plan of care. Not agreeing is fair enough, but I escorted them off the ward with a warning that verbal abuse is zero tolerance and they did it again I'd have them banned.

What is your situation?

Have you had any training in conflict resolution and breakaway?

XYZ1000

Thanks for your message. I am in a house there is two guys there. I am teaching them skills to live alone in a flat. I am lone working and to be honest finding it really tough. I have had breakaway training around 5 years ago. A two day course type thing.
It is the amount of rage one shows that gets really scary, when he is quite in my face. I tend to be backed into a corner at these times. I have been use to verbal abuse previously but in a much bigger place 14 bed where I can walk away easy.

XYZ1000

There seems to be no consequence that you can give and they are free to treat you like s**t and you have to just take it. totally stressful. It is just a waiting game for them to go to far until someone will take notice it seems.

Shoey1610

Hmm, you don't have to give too much away, but does he have a care manager with the local mental health team? I'd want to be flagging this up and asking for a plan and some support. I wonder what his risk history is.

If you are lone working in a house with these two guys and he is physically in your face/backing you into a corner that is completely unacceptable and should be taken further, regardless of his issues. If he is well enough to be learning life skills in a house, he is well enough to keep his aggression in check or accept that behaviour has consequences.

Shoey1610

Sorry, cross posting!

You are the only person who can stand up for yourself - not with him, but with the wider care team or your management team. Shout, make a fuss, you should not be at work where someone is making you feel like that. They are not free to treat you like !!!! - not to the extent that you have that horrible heartflipping fear. He should be risk assessed for working in pairs with him. If they won't protect you in that way, you need to think about whether it is worth it working there.

XYZ1000

He has mental health and a learning disability so a tricky one. He is currently under the LD team. Manager got his Nurse in to talk with me ...but he just said it isn't a medication issue. They put in extra staff for two weeks when there was a more serious incident around 6 weeks ago. There seems to be a issue with money. The home has lost two service users recently (mmm I wonder why).
I asked for a risk assessment on him a few weeks ago and was told that can take all day to complete, and that was it!?

Dimey

I'd hate to have your job. Hope you've got a lock on your own door if you have to sleep over.

Sounds like you need to put your requests for help/support from your bosses in writing to log what's going on. They have a duty of care to you as well as the residents.

Funky_Bold_Ribena

XYZ1000 wrote: »

He has mental health and a learning disability so a tricky one. He is currently under the LD team. Manager got his Nurse in to talk with me ...but he just said it isn't a medication issue. They put in extra staff for two weeks when there was a more serious incident around 6 weeks ago. There seems to be a issue with money. The home has lost two service users recently (mmm I wonder why).
I asked for a risk assessment on him a few weeks ago and was told that can take all day to complete, and that was it!?

Your response to this is 'great, which day shall we book?'

Shoey1610

Sorry but 'its not a medication issue' is very poor nursing, what about psychosocial issues! Treating him and you as humans?

Croatoan

There are many people with mental health problems who can be very verbally aggressive but are not in any way physically aggressive. If the person has a history of physical aggression and you feel in danger, then you should be seeing him in, at least, twos - can't stress enough that you should document this. I'm sure you might have done this already, but try telling him you find his actions distressing. Some people react well to honesty. Some people are doing it because they're after a response: they may enjoy your unease. Some people are, as has been said, just being !!!!!! because they can. Others genuinely can't help themselves. Verbal aggression is, I'm afraid, treated as just part of the job when you're working in mental health. It can be difficult to handle, but you'll often find that person who's screaming at you one minute, is nice as pie five minutes later (and screaming again 5 minutes later than that).