3.5 – Manage Abusive Client Behaviour

Purpose & Context

Career Development Professionals (CDPs) address abusive behavior when it arises to establish boundaries with clients, prevent escalation, and ensure others are not adversely impacted.

Effective Performance

Competent career development professionals must be able to:

P1. Identify forms of threatening and abusive behaviour to self and others, including:
- Physical violence
- Emotional abuse
- Verbal abuse
- Sexual harassment
- Bullying, including cyberbullying
- Stalking
P2. Maintain composure in abusive situations:
- Remain calm
- Speak clearly and firmly with the client
- Avoid taking clients’ words or attitude personally
P3. Ensure safety of self, client, and others:
- Separate client with abusive behaviours from others, if necessary
- Ask for assistance from colleagues based on proximity, skill set and their relationship with the client, if
  necessary
P4. Inform client that abusive behaviour is unacceptable and must stop:
- Discuss consequences of continuation of behavior, e.g. termination of services
- Ask client to leave if the behaviour continues
P5. Discuss behaviour with client
- Acknowledge distress
- Suggest resolutions
P6. Assess whether services can continue:
- If yes, handle client concern or complaint
- If no, call for assistance, e.g. supervisor, security, police
P7. Record details of incident in accordance with organization’s policies

Knowledge & Understanding

Competent career development professionals must know and understand:

K1. Types of abusive behaviour
K2. Conflict resolution techniques
K3. Support resources
K4. Relevant organizational policies

Contextual Variables

Competent career development professionals must be able to perform this competency in the following range of contexts:

Glossary & Key References

Terms

Industry-specific terms contained in the standard defined here, where applicable.

None

Information Sources and Resources for Consideration

None

Context Rating Scales

Criticality

Q: What is the consequence of a professional being unable to perform this skill according to the standard?

High probability of risk: VERY CRITICAL

Frequency

Q: How frequent and under what conditions is this skill performed?

Unexpectedly, e.g. when emergency arises

Level of Difficulty

Q: Under routine circumstances, how would you rate the level of difficulty in performing this skill?

Very hard or challenging

Time Required to Gain Proficiency

Q: What is the average length of time or number of repeated events that are minimally necessary for an individual to become proficient in performing the skill to the standard?

To become fully proficient in this competency, a career development professional requires a minimum of 5 instances of addressing abusive behaviour.

Autonomy

Practitioners typically perform this competency with and/or without supervision, and as part of a team and/or alone.

Automation

It is unlikely that this competency will automate.

Requisite Work Aids, Tools, Equipment or Materials

None