During Mental Health Awareness Month, we rightfully focus on patients’ well-being and the breaking of stigmas. However, there is a silent side to the mental health crisis that often goes unaddressed: the safety and psychological well-being of the practitioners themselves.
BlackDoctor recently spoke with Kara Smith, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and private practice owner in Maryland. Kara is a supervisor to the next generation of therapists, but she is also a vocal advocate for a tool that is becoming essential in the field—the Silent Beacon wearable safety device.
Smith shared her journey from a “naive” young clinician to a protective supervisor, illustrating why providers’ safety is the foundation of quality care.
Smith’s passion for safety isn’t theoretical; it’s born from years of working on the front lines without a net. Looking back at her early career, she recalls the risks she took as a standard part of the job.
“I worked in housing services for a few years… a housing complex for formerly homeless individuals and families,” Kara shares. “I was regularly going into their homes… I was doing wellness checks on them, literally knocking on the door, and they’re not answering. I’m going in by myself, you know, the 30-year-old woman. I was pregnant for some of it. I look back like, how come nobody took that extra step to have a safety plan in place?”
This experience highlights a dangerous gap in the industry: the most complex, high-need cases are often assigned to the least experienced therapists. “The most novice, new-out-of-grad-school therapists… that’s where they start their careers,” she notes. “Most therapists are women… and they are put in these situations where their safety is at risk.”
For decades, the standard safety advice given to therapists has been dangerously minimal. Smith describes the status quo with a touch of irony.
“The only thing we’re ever taught about our safety coming out of grad school is to put your chair closer to the door so if something happens, you can get out before they do. Obviously, not everybody can get out of those situations, or we wouldn’t be having therapists being assaulted and murdered even in the workspace,” she notes.
This realization prompted Smith to seek out better protection when she opened her own practice. She now provides her team with Silent Beacon devices—wearable panic buttons that can call 911 or alert supervisors with a single touch.
Therapists are, by nature, empaths. While this is their greatest strength, Smith argues it can also be a vulnerability if not balanced with professional safety measures.
“We go in with a compassionate stance, as we should,” Smith explains. “But I think because we are generally empaths, we kind of go overboard and forget that as much as we care about our clients… There are risks.”
The Silent Beacon allows her staff to maintain that compassion while having a “silent” failsafe. One of the most critical features is the ability to call for help without the client knowing an alert has been triggered. This is vital in situations where a client may be experiencing a mental health crisis or emotional deregulation.
“The therapists feel we’re safe, therefore we can show up for them,” Smith says. “We can’t do that if we don’t have a way to get help if we need it.”
As we celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month, Smith is calling for a shift in how agencies, hospitals, and private practices view their duty of care. Despite the high stakes, she estimates that 95 percent of therapists have no formal safety plan in place.
“I would love to see people invest in something,” she urges. “It’s such a low-budget industry… but to prevent burnout, to keep people wanting to work in these situations, it is a great small price to spend to add to your team’s wellbeing.”
The numbers tell the story:
For Smith, providing these devices is a way of telling her staff they are more than just “cogs in a wheel.” It’s a way of ensuring that while they care for the community, someone is also looking out for them.
Mental health awareness isn’t just about the mind; it’s about the environment in which healing happens. By protecting our providers, we ensure that the mental health field remains a sustainable, safe, and effective space for everyone.
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