Psychiatric Times Psychiatrists Can Help Quell Workplace Violence by Caroline Helwick Psychiatric Times March 1995 Vol. In an average day, three Americans leave for work and never return home, fatal victims of workplace violence. And in addition to the 750 or so deaths per year, there are countless threats, assaults and incidents of harassment. Claiming more than 150 members, the AOOP is dedicated to the advancement of psychiatric solutions to occupational and organizational mental health problems.
Psychiatrists have a very important role in the assessment of threats.
Risk Factors Psychiatrists can help to predict when angry gestures may turn serious by looking for several risk factors, Heidel said. Warning signs of an impending homicide include threatening comments, actual threats of violence or murder, references to previous workplace homicides, mention of weapons, stalking, and displays of paranoia, anger and litigiousness. If my supervisor had walked out, I would have killed him. As a consultant on this case, Heidel devised a psychiatric profile and risk factor analysis of the employee from information obtained from various sources. When company representatives decided to terminate the employee, Heidel helped develop a strategy for doing so in a nonthreatening, nonpunitive manner to diminish the threat of the employee's retaliation.