Specific Topics and Tools

Fundamentals of Violence Risk

Violence Prevention (Standard curriculum: ½ day to 1 day)

Recognizing, responding to, and documenting major warning signs of violence risk. Topics include:
1) identifying and reporting primary and secondary warning signs for violence
2) learning verbal and non-verbal skills to prevent escalation of violence

Violence Risk Triage (Standard curriculum: 1 day)

Identifying and prioritizing cases for follow-up with comprehensive assessment and management. Topics include:
1) using a structured violence risk triage
2) identifying warning signs
3) prioritizing cases
4) determining immediate actions

Interviewing Skills (Standard curriculum: 2 days)

Gathering information accurately and efficiently via interview. Topics include:
1) foundational issues related to conducting violence risk assessment and management interviews
2) special challenges related to diversity issues, uncooperativeness, mental health problems, and violent thoughts

Violence and Mental Health (Standard curriculum: 2 days)

Recognizing and responding to mental health problems that may increase violence risk. Topics include:
1) identifying symptoms of mental disorder
2) gathering information about symptoms of mental disorder through documents and interviews
3) communicating information about symptoms of mental disorder

Legal Issues (Standard curriculum: 2 days)

Understanding and navigating the law as it relates to assessment and management of violence risk. Topics include:
1) duty to accommodate violence risk due to mental health problems in employment and education law
2) standards under occupational health and safety law
3) managing parallel investigations
4) decision making regarding voluntary/involuntary and paid/unpaid leave
5) managing privacy/freedom of information issues

Risk Communication (Standard curriculum: 2 days)

Maximizing the economy and effectiveness of written and oral communications about violence risk. Topics include:
1) written reports
2) oral reports
3) expert evidence

Managing Teams (Standard curriculum: 1 day)

Establishing, operating, and developing threat assessment teams, behavioral intervention teams, and occupational health and safety teams in diverse settings. Topics include:
1) reviewing the goals, structures, processes and outcomes of teams
2) discussing major issues and promising practices

Booster Session (Standard curriculum: 1-2 days)

Tailored to specific needs related to assessing and managing violence risk. Topics include:

1) case review (e.g., Violence Risk Triage, HCR-20 V3, SARA-V3, SAM, RSVP)
2) advanced skills (e.g., risk formulation, scenario planning, risk communication, interviewing, considering diversity)
3) special topics (e.g., honour-based violence, extremist violence, lethality assessment, safety planning, mental disorder)
4) challenging issues (e.g., information sharing, parallel investigations, duty to accommodate, combining multiple methods, fear management).

General Violence

Historical-Clinical-Risk Management Guide, Version 3 (Standard curriculum: 2 days)

Use of the HCR-20 V3 for comprehensive, management-oriented evaluations of adults.

Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (Standard curriculum: 2 days)

Use of the SAVRY for comprehensive, management-oriented evaluations of adolescents, aged 12 to 17.

 

Intimate Partner Violence

Spousal Assault Risk Assessment Guide, Version 3 (Standard curriculum: 2 days)

Use of the SARA-V3 for comprehensive, management-oriented evaluations.

Brief Spousal Assault Form for the Evaluation of Risk, Second Edition (Standard curriculum: 2 days)

Use of the B-SAFER for simplified evaluations.

 

Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment

Risk for Sexual Violence Protocol (Standard curriculum: 2 days)

Use of the RSVP for comprehensive, management-oriented evaluations.

Sexual Violence Risk, Version 2 (Standard curriculum: 2 days)

Use of the SVR-20 V2 for simplified evaluations.

 

Stalking, Harassment, and Bullying

Stalking Assessment and Management Guidelines (Standard curriculum: 2 days)

Use of the SAM for comprehensive, management-oriented evaluations.

 

Honour Based Violence

PATRIARCH (Standard curriculum: 2 days)

Use of the PATRIARCH for comprehensive, management-oriented evaluations.

 

Group-Based Violence

Multi-Level Guidelines (Standard curriculum: 2 days)

Use of the MLG for comprehensive, management-oriented evaluations related to problems such as terrorism and gang violence.

 

Victim Safety Planning

Aid for Safety Assessment and Planning (Standard curriculum: 1 or 2 days)

Use of the ASAP to help people enhance their own safety and help others to support them.

 

Psychopathic Personality Disorder

Psychopathy Checklist-Revised and Screening Version of the PCL-R (Standard curriculum: 2 days)

Clinical-forensic applications of the PCL-R and PCL:SV in correctional and mental health settings.

Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality (Standard curriculum: 2 days)

Clinical-forensic applications of the CAPP in diverse settings.

 

Self-Directed Violence

Guidelines for Preventing Self-Directed Violence (Standard Curriculum: 2 days)

Use of the Guidelines for Preventing Self-Directed Violence for comprehensive, management-oriented evaluations related to self-directed violence.