Risk Formulation

Presented by: Kelly A. Watt, PhD

1 Hour / 1 CE

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Risk Formulation is presented by Kelly A. Watt, Ph.D., in partnership with Protect International Risk and Safety Services.

Risk formulation is a critical step for guiding decision-making when assessing and managing violence risk. If we do not understand why someone engaged in violence in the past, it is difficult, if not impossible, to prevent that individual from engaging in future violence. Although the formulation process is considered a core competence in the practice of mental health, including forensic mental health, there are few explicit clinical guidelines for this skill and very little research evaluating this skill.

This program provides an overview of various approaches to formulation, focusing on a strategy of formulation that was explicitly developed for understanding the perpetuation of past violence. It does so by providing a structure for evaluating motivators, disinhibitors, and destabilizers for past violence. This approach to formulation is informed by decision theory and is used routinely in the Structured Professional Judgment model of violence risk assessment.

Learning Objectives

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

1 Describe one of the core steps in Structured Professional Judgment
2 Describe the nature and implications of formulation
3 Describe formulation for understanding perpetration of past violence
4 Describe motivators, disinhibitors, and destabilizers for past violence

Intended Audience

This training is designed for mental health and forensic professionals who have intermediate to advanced experience in violence risk assessment, forensic evaluation, and risk management. The focus is on deepening understanding of the causes and patterns of past violent behavior to enhance future prevention strategies. Participants typically work in settings where violence risk is a significant concern, such as correctional facilities, forensic psychiatric units, law enforcement, and clinical or social service agencies.
Experience Level
- Intermediate: Professionals with foundational experience in violence risk assessment or forensic evaluation, seeking to expand their skills and knowledge
- Advanced: Experienced practitioners who regularly conduct risk assessments, forensic evaluations, or manage high-risk cases, and who wish to refine their expertise and stay current with best practices
Practice Setting
- Mental health professionals (psychologists, psychiatrists, clinical social workers)
- Forensic evaluators and consultants
- Risk management specialists in forensic or clinical settings
- Professionals working in correctional facilities or forensic psychiatric hospitals
- Law enforcement professionals involved in behavioral threat assessment
- Social service agency staff dealing with high-risk populations

Presented By

Kelly A. Watt, PhD

Dr. Kelly A. Watt works as a Threat Assessment Specialist at Protect International and is a member of the Mental Health, Law, and Policy Institute at Simon Fraser University in Canada. Dr. Watt is the editor of the Intelligence newsletter which is disseminated on behalf of threat assessment professional associations in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia Pacific, and that provides recent advances in research, practice, and the law related to threat assessment around the globe.

View More Programs from this Presenter

Training Outline

Key topics covered in this training include:

Risk Formulation (guiding decision-making when assessing and managing violence risk)
Approaches to Formulation (Structured Professional Judgement model of violence risk assessment)
Past Violence (motivators, disinhibitors, and destabilizers)

We are proud to partner with

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.

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) 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.