Defending Discomfort: A Critical Social Work Case against Trigger Warnings

Trigger warnings have become a hotly contested practice in higher education, including within the field of social work. Learning to become a social worker can be a demanding process that requires in-depth study about often socially taboo and traumatic topics. The learning process can, understandably, cause discomfort that may result in a disconcerting or anxiety-provoking experience for social work students. However, the inclusion of challenging topics in social work education, including human rights violations, domestic violence, sexual abuse, racism, sexism, and many other social injustices is essential in the development of competency in social work practice. What remains unclear is the role and responsibility of universities and subsequently educators, in how we include or exclude trigger warnings, their relevance to social work education, and how we manage the expectations of students and their responses to the exposure of sensitive material. This article argues that trigger warnings may contribute to the pathologization of the experience of discomfort while simultaneously silencing oppressed students who may not identify with the language or experience of being triggered. This article investigates trigger warnings from a critical social work perspective and considers if the use of trigger warnings may potentially be more harmful than helpful.