3 Hours / 3 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Fordham Risk Screening Tool (FRST) is presented by Melodie Foellmi, Ph.D.

This program teaches clinicians and clinical researchers to use the Fordham Risk Screening Tool (FRST; Rosenfeld, Foellmi, Khadivi, & Rotter), a violence risk screening tool, in psychiatric settings. The purpose of the FRST is to help clinicians and front-line staff makes efficient, accurate decisions surrounding violence risk screening to reduce potential bias. It is especially useful in settings where it is not possible to do a comprehensive violence risk assessment on every patient.

The FRST is a short, Structured Professional Judgment instrument that guides the clinician to consider different areas relevant to violence risk screening. The screening is completed via a brief review of available records, a 2-10 minute interview with the patient, and a simple rating system using a flowchart. Once the clinician has completed the FRST, he or she arrives at a decision surrounding the need for and urgency of conducting a more comprehensive violence risk assessment. The FRST is based on theoretical and empirical knowledge of violence risk assessment and screening decision-making and has been the subject of validation work in several inpatient civil psychiatric settings. In past studies, the FRST consistently showed very high sensitivity and was able to help clinicians identify patients who were most likely to have HCR-20V3 risk ratings of moderate or high.

This program helps individuals to think about how the FRST could increase the accuracy and efficiency of decision-making surrounding violence risk screening and triage in their specific work setting. Emphasis will be based on practice, as well as integrating the FRST into different clinical situations.


Learning Objectives

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

  • 1 Describe how to administer, score, and use the FRST in clinical decision-making surrounding violence risk screening
  • 2 Describe the skills surrounding how to ask questions regarding violence
  • 3 Describe scoring guidelines in a variety of different clinical scenarios
  • 4 Describe how to apply the FRST in your own clinical practice as well as on a larger institutional level
  • 5 Describe development and validation studies of the FRST

  • Intended Audience

    This training program is designed for mental health and allied professionals who work in settings where violence risk assessment, patient triage, and clinical decision-making are essential. It is suitable for clinicians at all career stages—beginner, intermediate, and advanced—who specialize in psychology, social work, counseling, or marriage and family therapy. The training is particularly relevant for those working in inpatient psychiatric units, hospitals, or other mental health environments where efficient and accurate violence risk screening is critical.

  • Experience Level

    This training is applicable for all career stages: entry-level, mid-career, and experienced professionals.

  • Practice Setting

    • Psychologists

    • Social workers

    • Counselors

    • Marriage and family therapists

    • Allied mental health professionals

Presented By

Melodie Foellmi, PhD

Dr. Melodie Foellmi is Senior Clinical Director at Brooklyn EAC, which involves court monitoring of offenders with serious mental health issues, for the last four years. She earned her PhD in clinical psychology at Fordham University, where she was a therapist, intake clinician, and coordinator at Project SHARP, randomized controlled study evaluating empirically validated treatment for stalking offenders.

View More Programs from this Presenter
Melodie Foellmi, PhD

Training Outline

Key topics covered in this training include:

  • Overview of violence risk assessment, including historical context and frequently-used instruments

  • The function of violence risk screening and triage

  • Existing brief risk assessment instruments and screening tools

  • Screening instruments in need of future development

  • Training on the Fordham Risk Screening Tool: Overview of validation research to date, Purpose of the FRST, FRST administration and scoring, Decision-making using the FRST, Practice cases, Implementation of the FRST

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.