1 Hour / 1 CE

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Scenario Planning is presented by Stephen D. Hart, PhD, in partnership with Protect International Risk and Safety Services.

This program provides an overview of the use of scenario planning in violence risk assessment and management. Scenario planning allows risk and threat assessment professionals to forecast possible violent futures and build management plans to prevent those futures.

This program explores the historical roots of scenario planning in the military, industry, finance, and disaster planning. Most of the program focuses on how scenario planning methods can assist professionals in three critical ways when used as part of structured professional judgment (SPJ) risk assessment. First, scenarios can help evaluators consider repeat, escalation, twist, worst-case, and best-case trajectories of violence. Second, they enable us to hypothesize about the likelihood, nature, severity, imminence, and frequency of future violence. Third, they aid in the construction of monitoring, supervision, treatment, and victim safety planning strategies. Finally, a series of case studies is presented illustrating scenario planning with diverse violent offenders.

Learning Objectives

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

  • 1 Describe the history of scenario planning
  • 2 Describe common types of violent scenarios
  • 3
    Describe how scenarios can assist in thinking about the likelihood, nature, severity, imminence, and frequency of future violence
  • 4 Describe the link between scenario planning and violence risk management

  • Intended Audience

    This specialized training is intended for professionals with established expertise in violence risk and threat assessment, focusing on deepening skills in forensic evaluation, risk management, and scenario-based violence prevention. The curriculum emphasizes advanced methodologies and decision-making strategies for complex cases, supporting those responsible for accurate risk assessment and effective intervention in high-stakes situations.


    Examples of Relevant Professionals:
    • Forensic psychologists
    • Forensic psychiatrists
    • Mental health professionals
    • Correctional facility staff and administrators
    • Law enforcement officers
    • Threat assessment team members
    • Clinical social workers and counselors
    • Risk management professionals in healthcare or public safety sectors

  • Experience Level

    This training is appropriate for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals at various experience levels in violence risk assessment and management.

    • Beginner: Participants new to scenario planning or violence risk assessment will gain foundational knowledge of scenario planning history, key concepts, and its application in structured professional judgment (SPJ).

    • Intermediate: Participants with some experience in risk assessment will deepen their understanding of scenario planning methods, learn to apply scenario analysis to diverse violent scenarios, and integrate these approaches into risk management strategies.

    • Advanced: Participants with extensive experience in violence risk assessment and management will refine their expertise by exploring complex case studies, advanced scenario planning techniques, and nuanced applications for diverse populations.

  • Practice Setting

    Format Practice occurs in high-stakes institutional, community, and multidisciplinary environments where violence risk decisions guide safety planning and organizational or legal actions. Practitioners integrate structured professional judgment with scenario planning to forecast potential trajectories of harm and coordinate monitoring, supervision, treatment, and victim safety measures across teams. Work often interfaces with legal processes, policy implementation, and emergency response protocols.


    Examples of Practice Settings:
    • Forensic hospitals and secure psychiatric units
    • Correctional facilities and probation/parole services
    • Courts, pretrial services, and specialty dockets
    • Law enforcement threat management and behavioral assessment units
    • Community mental health clinics and violence intervention programs
    • Healthcare system risk management and workplace violence prevention teams
    • University and K-12 threat assessment teams
    • Corporate security and protective intelligence units

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.