Professional Dangerousness

Navigating the shadows within professional practice

At Nikki Butler Consulting, we are passionate about individuals and families being provided services that increase their wellbeing and safety. Our transformative training is designed to provide an integration of theory and practical strategies to create lasting transformation in the lives of children, young people and their families.

Our training sessions are provided direct to your organisation, arranged with you. We also welcome combined organisational training.

This course is one of our most transformative, bringing to light unconscious processes that exist within professional practice.

Course overview

This session focuses on the fine line that often exists between safe and unsafe practice. It provides an understanding of Professional Dangerousness and how it operates within the individual practice, inter-agency and intra-agency context. 

It explores the, often unconscious, processes that underpin practice decisions, which can increase the risk of practitioner burnout, emotional overwhelm and risk to those accessing services. 

As a response to strong emotions, feelings of incompetence, anxieties and sometimes trauma, the practitioner’s own defense mechanisms can take hold. These defense mechanisms, aimed at self-protection, can impact client engagement, assessment and intervention, in such a way that harm or risk of harm in the client context can be overlooked, rationalised or minimised.

Navigating what lies underneath practice decisions and overwhelm, to prevent risk of inadequate practice decisions or burnout, requires a conscious and reflective practice approach.

“When there is reflection and transparency, Professional Dangerousness and its purpose in self-protection, can be navigated effectively to increase safety, practitioner wellbeing and positive client outcomes”.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the session, it is expected attendees will have increased knowledge and competency in:

1. Recognising and responding to Professional Dangerousness risk which operates within individual, inter-agency and intra-agency contexts.

2. Understanding the ways in which practice decisions can increase risk of harm to those accessing services, including children, young people and families.

3. Awareness of unconscious processes and cognitive biases that can increase risk of unsafe practice, emotional overwhelm, burnout, and vicarious trauma.

4. Applying conscious and reflective practice to increase practitioner wellbeing and enhance positive client outcomes.

Who is the course for?

The course is designed for practitioners, supervisors and managers who provide services to children, young people and families, including child protection, mental health, domestic and family violence, child disability, therapy, education and ‘out of home care’. The course is particularly relevant for professionals where their clients are experiencing complexity, risk of harm, safety concerns or compromised mental health.

Mode of delivery

This course is available online or face-to face at a date and time convenient to you.

For in-person training, we can come to you or arrange a suitable venue.

Course options: 

  • Information Session – 2 hours
  • Core Competency – 1 day (6-7 hours)
  • Online – 1 day or 2x half days.

Please see Pricing Tab for fees. We are always open to working with you on an arrangement that fits within your budget.

For more information or to discuss possible training dates, please contact us via email or phone. We look forward to talking with you about how we might be able to support your training needs.

Since doing your training I have become so much more aware of my own thought processes in my practice, it has really made a difference. I have been sharing your work with others to bring about wider reflection in my service.

Rural Mental Health Team Leader, NSW, 2023