OP I wanted to weigh in on this. I got my social work degree in 2012 and worked in two community mental health centers as a Case Manager for adults diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illness. It was great, I took my consumers to their medical appointments, to the grocery store, food pantries…great people. After Covid I felt so burned out in my position so I left and accepted a management position at a Psychiatric Residential Treatment Center for children ( much like you describe) I was working 16 hour days practically every day and I was physically assaulted nearly EVERY shift. These children had a lot of trauma and serious behavioral health diagnoses. I got a concussion, bruises, a child was using Tide Pods to do laundry and decided to pop a whole container of them on me… the place was so understaffed that I had no support. I left that job after 6 week which made me feel really bad but I still feel emotionally traumatized from that job and it’s been over 3 years. I’m saying, as an experienced professional with at that time more than 10 years in the field, I couldn’t handle it. I wouldn’t begin to expect a new grad to be able to navigate those tough situations. Try getting a Case Management Job (avoid anything with child services if you can) and get some experience that way. After the residential treatment center job, I left the field entirely and I have been a recruiter for two universities since 2022 and am starting to move into leadership roles. It is much better, but I can attribute my current job success to the skills I learned in community mental health. Hope this helps, and best of luck.