Am J Psychiatry 1976; 133:426-429
Copyright © 1976 by American Psychiatric Association
Assault on the therapist
RM Whitman, BB Armao and OB Dent
The authors conducted a questionnaire survey among psychotherapists in
psychiatry, psychology and social work to determine how many patients posed
a threat to others or to the therapist and how many actually assaulted the
therapist. They found that 9.2% of all patients seen by 101 therapists in
one year presented a threat to others, 1.9% posed a physical threat to the
therapist, and .63% actually assaulted the therapist. The authors conclude
that attacks on a therapist are infrequent but almost inevitable and
suggest the development of techniques for coping with assaultive patients
that therapists can use in crisis situations.
