Designing Mental Health Training Curricula for Police Culture
Presented by: Christopher Weaver, PhD and Vanessa Payne
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
Training Instructors:
Christopher Weaver, PhD
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.
Vanessa Payne
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.
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.
American Psychological Association (APA): Approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): Approved continuing education provider (ACE program, Provider #1480), 11/22/2023–11/22/2026.
Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): Approved to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.
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), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7190. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Palo Alto University, #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. Palo Alto University 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. Continuing and Professional Studies, Palo Alto University, is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0103. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT), 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. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies, is recognized by 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.