Students and agencies are required to immediately report any concerns or incidents related to student safety to the appropriate Field Consultant. If the Field Consultant is not available, the report should be made to the Chair of Field Education. For current contact information please see the online Berkeley Social Welfare faculty directory.
It is not unusual for students in field placement to directly witness, hear about, or be party to a critical incident including a patient death, an incident of violence, involuntary hospitalization, the arrest of a client, or other incidents that could be considered traumatic or highly distressing. Reactions to these incidents can vary widely. We encourage all Field Instructors to proactively inquire about student reactions to adverse events in the placement agency. We further encourage students to debrief incidents with their assigned Field Consultant. If a student would like to debrief an incident in a field seminar class, the Field Consultant should be consulted in advance to determine how to help the group receive the information and offer support.