I’m a therapist, but not a psychologist if that matters. I used to work in a facility for kids and adolescents with pretty intense behavioral issues. Even when a client was aggressive, I was usually able to de-escalate them and I generally didn’t feel unsafe. In fact, most of the time I was concerned about their safety during outbursts.

With one exception…I had a client that was pretty strong and prone to intense tantrums. This client was acting in a way that was unsafe (had a plan to seriously hurt another resident I think?) so I had to put them on restriction (within staff eyesight at all times). Their response was to run up to me and attempt to choke me. Luckily the staff got there in time and prevented this kid from seriously hurting me. On another occasion, this same client also took apart their curtain rod in their bedroom and swung it at my head (I dodged in time). Oddly enough, this client and I had a pretty good relationship the other 99% of the time and I generally enjoyed working with them.