1.5 Hours / 1.5 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Legal Issues and Violence Risk is presented by Stephen D. Hart, Ph.D., in partnership with Protect International Risk and Safety Services.

Workplaces have made great strides related to establishing threat assessment teams to assess and manage violence risk over the last two decades and ensuring team members have the adequate skills, experience, and training to do this work.

In their experience assessing and managing violence risk, workplaces have encountered complicated legal issues, and some have even faced lawsuits. This program focuses on critical legal matters related to violence risk assessment and management in workplaces. Increased awareness of these legal issues will assist professionals and workplaces in engaging in best practices and preventing potential liability.

Learning Objectives

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

  • 1 Describe the duty to accommodate in cases where a mental disorder is present
  • 2 Describe managing parallel investigations
  • 3 Describe the use of voluntary or involuntary leave as an interim or long-term management strategy
  • 4 Describe balancing the right to privacy versus freedom of information

  • Intended Audience

    This training is designed for mental health and allied professionals who specialize in threat assessment and violence risk management. It is intended for individuals who play a role in understanding and managing risk within organizations, including those involved in corporate security, workplace safety, human resources, organizational consulting, criminal justice, healthcare, social services, and education.


    Examples of Relevant Professionals:
    • Mental health professionals (psychologists, counselors, social workers)
    • Allied professionals involved in threat assessment and risk management
    • Corporate security and workplace safety team members
    • Human resources professionals
    • Organizational consultants
    • Criminal justice professionals (law enforcement, probation, corrections)
    • Healthcare providers involved in risk management
    • Social service workers
    • Education professionals (school counselors, administrators)

  • Experience Level

    This training is appropriate for mental health professionals at varying levels of experience in workplace violence risk assessment and management.

    • Beginner: Participants new to workplace threat assessment or legal issues in violence risk will gain foundational knowledge of legal concepts, team roles, and best practices.

    • Intermediate: Participants with some experience in violence risk assessment or workplace investigations will deepen their understanding of complex legal considerations, such as duty to accommodate, privacy, and managing parallel investigations.

  • Practice Setting

    Professionals practice in complex organizational environments with formal threat assessment teams, collaborating across security, HR, and leadership to assess and manage violence risk in line with policy and applicable law. Their work spans intake, investigation, and case management where privacy, accommodation, documentation, and liability considerations drive best practices to prevent harm and reduce organizational risk, supporting practitioners at all experience levels.


    Examples of Practice Settings:
    • Corporate and enterprise workplaces
    • Manufacturing and industrial sites
    • Healthcare systems and hospitals
    • Community mental health and social service agencies
    • Law enforcement, probation, and corrections agencies
    • Government and public-sector organizations
    • Organizational consulting and EAP firms

Presented By

Stephen D. Hart, PhD Faculty in the Department of Psychology at Simon Fraser University

Dr. Stephen D. Hart obtained BA, MA, and PhD degrees in psychology at the University of British Columbia. He has been on faculty in the Department of Psychology at Simon Fraser University since 1990, and has held the rank of Professor since 2001. He also served as a Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Bergen in Norway between 2000 and 2021. His expertise is in the field of clinical-forensic psychology, with a special focus on the assessment of violence risk and psychopathic personality disorder. He has co-authored more than 250 books, chapters, and articles. He has served as editor of two scientific journals; a member of the editorial board of eight journals; and ad hoc reviewer for more than 40 journals. He has served as an executive committee member of several professional organizations, including President of the American Psychology-Law Society and the International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services. He has received various distinctions for his professional work, including the Career Achievement Award from the Society of Clinical Psychology, the Saleem Shah Award for Early Career Research Excellence in Psychology and Law from the American Psychology-Law Society and the American Academy of Forensic Psychology, and the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals. He maintains an active practice in violence risk assessment. He has consulted with government agencies from more than 25 countries; led more than 500 training workshops around the world; and given expert evidence before courts, tribunals, inquests, review boards, and parliamentary committees in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

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Stephen D. Hart, PhD
We are proud to partner with

Protect International Risk and Safety Services

Protect International Risk and Safety Services

We are proud to partner with Protect International Risk and Safety Services for this training. Protect International's threat assessment professionals are internationally recognized experts that have developed some of the world's most widely used and best-validated threat assessment tools. Protect International provides services and products related to violence risk assessment and management, also known as threat assessment and management. Protect International services and products include threat assessment training and support, case assessment and management, legal consultation, policy review and development, and program evaluation and research; along with threat assessment manuals, worksheets, licenses, and software applications for those tools.

Learn More About Our Partner

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.