Book chapter
Exploring De- Escalation Through Simulation-Based Education in U.S. and Australian Social Work
Advancing Simulation-Based Social Work Education: Evidence, Impact, and Innovation, pp.353-374
Routledge
2026
Abstract
Social workers and practicum education students are frequently exposed to situations involving heightened emotion, confronting events, or client aggression. There is growing awareness of the need for training in de-escalation and managing heightened emotions, but little attention has been given to how these skills are taught in social work education. Unlike other disciplines, social work has yet to embrace simulation for teaching de-escalation. This mixed-method study in Australia and the U.S. used video-based simulation to explore social work students’ confidence in de-escalation. Results showed low confidence reported in the student cohort. The qualitative analysis identified four themes: Empathy, Emotional Regulation, Clarify and Resolve, and Fixing not Feelings, with students oscillating between demonstrating skills and naming skills without demonstrating proficiency. There is a need for more emphasis on practical training in de-escalation and managing heightened emotions in social work programs. In particular, the use of simulation-based learning to safely expose students to high-risk and confronting situations and assess their performance in these situations.
Details
- Title
- Exploring De- Escalation Through Simulation-Based Education in U.S. and Australian Social Work
- Authors
- Dimitra Lattas (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine CoastZalia Powell - University of the Sunshine CoastBrittany Adams - University of Tennessee at KnoxvilleRachel Ross - University of Tennessee at Knoxville
- Contributors
- Barbara Lee (Editor) - University of British ColumbiaMary Rawlings (Editor) - Azusa Pacific UniversityNicholas Lanzieri (Editor) - New York UniversityKenta Asakura (Editor) - Smith College
- Additional notes
- The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue in Studies in Clinical Social Work: Transforming Practice, Education, and Research.
- Publication details
- Advancing Simulation-Based Social Work Education: Evidence, Impact, and Innovation, pp.353-374
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.4324/9781003784180-21; 10.4324/9781003784180
- Copyright note
- This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Law and Society; Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991246797902621
- Output Type
- Book chapter
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