5 Hours / 5 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Designing Mental Health Training Curricula for Police Culture is presented by Christopher Weaver, Ph.D. and Ret. Sgt. Vanessa Payne.

This program describes stereotypes and evidence regarding police as a cultural group, including reviewing relevant laws and sample policies that govern police behavior. Participants are guided to draft a mock training curriculum for a challenging and divisive topic, customized to the interaction of police culture with their own.

Learning Objectives

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

  • 1 Describe stereotypical versus evidence-supported elements of police culture
  • 2 Describe core tenets of police work that any training curriculum needs to honor
  • 3 Describe state police-perspective rationale supporting behaviors seen publicly as problematic
  • 4 Describe talking points to combat negative assumptions about yourself that police may hold
  • 5 Describe common points of failure for mental health professionals who train police
  • 6 Describe police-perspective talking points to teach a mental health-focused learning objective

  • Intended Audience

    This training is intended for mental health and allied professionals who work with or support law enforcement and public safety personnel. It is ideal for those specializing in police and public safety psychology, organizational training, or those responsible for developing and implementing mental health training curricula for police personnel.
    Job titles or roles:

    • Mental Health Professional
    • Psychologist
    • Counselor
    • Social Worker
    • Allied Professional involved in police training or organizational development
    • Consultant providing services to police or public safety organizations
    • Individual designing or delivering mental health training for police personnel

  • Experience Level

    This training is appropriate for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals at various stages of experience with police culture and curriculum design.

    • Beginner: New to working with police or developing training curricula; seeking foundational knowledge of police culture, relevant laws, and evidence-based versus stereotypical perspectives.
    • Intermediate: Some experience collaborating with police or designing trainings; looking to deepen understanding of police-perspective rationales, address common points of failure, and develop effective, culturally responsive curricula.
    • Advanced: Extensive experience in police-mental health collaboration or curriculum development; aiming to refine advanced strategies for addressing divisive topics, teaching complex learning objectives, and facilitating nuanced discussions with law enforcement.

  • Practice Setting

    Professionals who participate in this training typically work in environments where mental health and public safety intersect. These settings may include police departments, public safety agencies, government organizations, private consulting firms, academic institutions, or community mental health centers. Their workspaces can range from on-site offices within law enforcement agencies to training facilities, classrooms, or virtual platforms. They may also operate in multidisciplinary teams, collaborating closely with police leadership, officers, and other public safety personnel to develop, deliver, and evaluate mental health training programs tailored to the unique culture and operational realities of law enforcement.
    Examples of practice settings:

    • Police department wellness or behavioral health units
    • Public safety training academies
    • Government agencies overseeing law enforcement training and policy
    • Private consulting firms specializing in police and public safety psychology
    • University or college criminal justice and psychology departments
    • Community mental health centers with law enforcement outreach programs
    • Virtual or in-person training environments for police personnel
    • Organizational development teams within public safety organizations

Presented By

Christopher M. Weaver, PhD, Director of the Forensic Psychology Emphasis at Palo Alto University

Dr. Christopher Weaver is an Associate Professor at Palo Alto University, and Director of PAU’s Forensic Psychology Program. Dr. Weaver received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Louisville, and has held research and clinical positions (pre- and postdoctoral) at the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University. He has published in the areas of psychopathy and violence risk assessment, and more recently in the areas of substance abuse and psychological trauma. His publications also include co-authored books in law & mental health and psychopathology. Dr. Weaver’s current research focuses on the role that trauma and substance use play in criminal offending, the assessment of dissimulation in PTSD assessment. He is also conducting a funded training and research program designed to increase police officer effectiveness in working with people with mental illness.

View More Programs from this Presenter
Christopher M. Weaver, PhD

Presented By

Sgt. Vanessa Payne (Ret.)

Sgt. Payne has spent 29 years with the San Jose Police Dept. There, she served numerous roles, including patrol officer, Sexual Assaults Investigations Detective, and on the Internal Affairs and School Liaison Units. She also worked on the Threat Management and Domestic Violence teams of the Family Violence Unit. For the past 8 years, Sgt. Payne has headed the Crisis Management Unit tasked with coordinating and conducting SJPD's extensive CIT training program. There, Sgt. Payne worked to curate the CIT curriculum and to mentor and optimize the impact of health and mental health professionals' trainings on police officer trainees.

View More Programs from this Presenter
Sgt. Vanessa Payne (Ret.)

Training Outline

Key topics covered in this training include:

  • A comparison of stereotypical versus evidence-supported elements of police culture

  • A state police-perspective rationale supporting behaviors seen publicly as problematic

  • Talking points to combat negative assumptions about yourself that police may hold

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.