Making an Impact: Evaluation of an Enduring Online Training Empowering Clinicians to Respond to Hate Speech

Abstract

Mental health clinicians frequently experience hate speech during patient care, resulting in an ethical dilemma. This study evaluated a 1-hour webinar discussing the ethics of working with Veterans who use hate speech, motivations and intentions of hate speech, and guidance on how to respond. The webinar was offered through the virtual Community-Based Outpatient Clinic Mental Health Grand Rounds session at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Rural mental health clinicians were the target audience; however, all VHA clinicians could attend. Participants were VHA clinicians who completed the evaluation for the training and received one continuing education unit for this training (n = 668). They were highly satisfied with the training and would recommend it to others. They also reported the intention to talk with coworkers and trainees about responding to hate speech and requested additional training. The recorded training can be viewed for free at https://www.mirecc.va.gov/visn16/ working-with-patients-who-use-hate-speech.asp.