1.5 Hours / 1.5 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on An Introduction to the Use of the Female Additional Manual (FAM) in Violence Risk Assessment is presented by Mollimichelle (Cabeldue) McClendon, PhD, and Lyndsay Brooks, PsyD.

Taking a gender responsive approach to violence risk assessment is important given the vast research that highlights differences in the likelihood and rationale for females committing violence in comparison to males. Research shows that females are impacted by different risk factors than males, and these risk factors may help better inform risk formulation and treatment.  

This program provides an overview of the Female Additional Manual, an adjunctive tool to the Historical-Clinical-Risk Management 20, for use with females. It will review each of the risk factors included on the Female Additional Manual, with examples of how each risk factor might present in violence risk formulation. Additionally, various case examples are utilized to showcase how the Female Additional Manual can be used to understand female violence risk in practice.  

This program is intended for licensed providers (e.g., psychologists, psychiatrists, LPCs, LCSWs) who work with forensic patients in various settings (e.g., state hospitals, secure forensic treatment facilities) who are new to using the Female Additional Manual or want a basic understanding of the measure. 

Individuals who participate in this program learn skills that can be applied directly in clinical and forensic inpatient settings by treating clinicians, as well as skills that can inform and improve the types of treatment recommendations provided by forensic evaluators when completing violence risk assessments with females. 

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:

  • 1 Describe the importance of gender responsive approaches to violence risk assessment
  • 2 Describe the structure of the Female Additional Manual and relevant risk factors specific to females
  • 3 Describe gender specific risk factors to various case examples

  • Intended Audience

    This training is intended for licensed mental health providers who work with forensic patients and have a background or interest in forensic psychology, clinical psychology, psychiatry, or social work. It is particularly relevant for those seeking foundational skills in violence risk assessment with a focus on gender-specific risk factors, including the use of the Female Additional Manual.


    Examples of Relevant Professionals:
    • Mental Health Professionals
    • Psychologists
    • Psychiatrists
    • Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs)
    • Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs)

  • Experience Level

    This training is appropriate for mental health professionals at varying levels of experience with gender-responsive violence risk assessment, particularly those new to the Female Additional Manual.

    • Beginner: Participants with little or no prior experience in gender-responsive violence risk assessment or the Female Additional Manual, seeking foundational knowledge and practical examples.

    • Intermediate: Participants with some experience in violence risk assessment or forensic settings who wish to deepen their understanding of gender-specific risk factors and enhance their application of the Female Additional Manual.

  • Practice Setting

    Providers work in structured forensic behavioral health settings serving justice-involved women, where clinical care is integrated with legal and supervision requirements. These environments emphasize routine violence risk formulation and gender-responsive assessment, including use of the Female Additional Manual to guide treatment and recommendations.


    Examples of Practice Settings:
    • State psychiatric hospitals with forensic units
    • Secure forensic treatment facilities
    • Correctional mental health services in jails or prisons
    • Court-ordered outpatient or pretrial forensic clinics
    • Competency restoration programs
    • Community reentry and probation-linked behavioral health programs

Presented By

Mollimichelle (Cabeldue) McClendon, PhD Licensed Psychologist/Private Practice

Mollimichelle McClendon, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist in Texas, Colorado, and Louisiana. She completed a forensic postdoctoral fellowship through Tulane School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences with clinical work at Eastern Louisiana Mental Health System which included conducting criminal forensic evaluations. Dr. McClendon has trained and worked in various state hospital systems including New York, Virginia, Colorado, Louisiana, and Texas with various forensic populations. Dr. McClendon currently works in private practice completing criminal forensic evaluations including competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility (sanity), mitigation, violence risk assessment, and other relevant psychological testing including assessment of feigning/malingering. Dr. McClendon also publishes in the areas of violence risk assessment, trauma in offender populations, feigning/malingering assessment, competency to stand trial treatment issues and specifically, improving the competency restoration process.

View More Programs from this Presenter
Mollimichelle (Cabeldue) McClendon, PhD

Presented By

Lyndsay Brooks, PsyD Washington State Behavioral Health Administration

Lyndsay Brooks, Psy.D. received her master’s and doctoral degrees in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University. She is licensed as a psychologist in the states of California, Texas, Illinois, and Washington. She completed an APA-accredited internship with the Federal Bureau of Prisons and received her postdoctoral training at the Loma Linda VA in an APA-accredited postdoctoral fellowship training program. Her professional background includes working as a forensic evaluator and clinical supervisor in state hospitals, teaching, supervising students, and providing professional consultation. Most recently, Dr. Brooks served as the Director of Psychology at Austin State Hospital before transitioning to the Washington State Behavioral Health Administration where she completes forensic evaluations for the inpatient psychiatric population. She has focused a great deal of her training, professional experience, and research interests on conducting high quality forensic and psychodiagnostic evaluations, providing evidence-based therapy, and staying actively involved in student training.

View More Programs from this Presenter
Lyndsay Brooks, PsyD

Training Outline

Key topics covered in this training include:

  • Gender responsive approaches to violence risk assessment

  • The structure of the Female Additional Manual

  • Risk factors specific to females

  • The existing research as applied to non-binary individuals

  • Examples of female-specific risk factors and how they might present in various settings and forensic evaluations

  • Case study examples of how using the Female Additional Manual and focusing on female-specific risk factors can improve the risk formulation and treatment

CE Sponsorship Information

Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by, recognized by, or maintains sponsorship provider status with the following boards and agencies. We maintain responsibility for all content in our CE/CPD programs. For more information, visit here. 

  1. American Psychological Association (APA): Approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.

  2. Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): Approved continuing education provider (ACE program, Provider #1480), 11/22/2023–11/22/2026.

  3. Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): Approved to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.

  4. National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP No. 7190).



Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0356 and the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0073. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6811. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CONCEPT Professional Training, #1480, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. CONCEPT Professional Training maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits.