3 Hours / 3 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) is presented by Laura S. Guy, Ph.D., in partnership with Protect International Risk and Safety Services.

During the program, Dr. Guy reviews major developmental concepts relevant to violence risk assessment and management with youth, teaches participants how to rate the risk and protective factors on the SAVRY, and discusses using the measure in practice.

The Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) guidelines for adolescents' comprehensive violence risk assessment and management is based on the Structured Professional Judgment (SPJ) model. The SAVRY can be used in correctional, forensic, and general or civil psychiatric settings. The SAVRY is used widely worldwide, and the manual has official translations in Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Spanish and Catalan, German and Norwegian. Research conducted to date has supported the SAVRY as a reliable and valid tool for assessing violence risk in adolescents.

Learning Objectives

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

  • 1 Describe major developmental concepts relevant to violence risk assessment and management in youth
  • 2 Describe how to rate the risk and protective factors on the SAVRY
  • 3 Describe how the measure can be used in practice (implementation issues)

  • Intended Audience

    This training is intended for professionals who work with youth and wish to develop or enhance their skills in assessing and managing violence risk in adolescents using the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY). It is highly relevant for those specializing in fields such as health care, criminal justice, victim services, security, social services, education, human resources, and community organizations.


    Examples of Relevant Professionals:
    • Mental health professionals (e.g., clinicians, counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists)
    • Nurses and physicians
    • Probation officers and law enforcement personnel
    • Legal professionals
    • Victim advocates and counselors
    • School safety officers and private security staff
    • Social workers and case managers
    • School counselors, administrators, and teachers
    • Human resources professionals in youth-serving organizations
    • Youth program coordinators

  • Experience Level

    This training is appropriate for mental health professionals at various stages of experience with violence risk assessment in youth.

    • Beginner: Participants are new to violence risk assessment with youth and have limited or no prior experience using the SAVRY or similar structured professional judgment tools.

    • Intermediate: Participants have some experience with violence risk assessment and may have used the SAVRY or similar tools, but seek to deepen their understanding of developmental concepts, risk/protective factor rating, and practical implementation.

    • Advanced: Participants are experienced in violence risk assessment and management with youth, are familiar with the SAVRY, and are looking to refine advanced skills or integrate the tool into complex clinical or forensic settings.

  • Practice Setting

    Professionals work in youth-serving clinical, educational, community, and justice environments where multidisciplinary teams assess and manage adolescent violence risk using the SAVRY within a Structured Professional Judgment framework. They apply developmental concepts and systematically rate risk and protective factors to guide case formulation, supervision, and intervention planning in routine and high-stakes decision-making.


    Examples of Practice Settings:
    • Outpatient youth mental health clinics
    • Adolescent inpatient/psychiatric units
    • School-based counseling and threat assessment teams
    • Juvenile detention centers and probation services
    • Family/youth courts and forensic assessment units
    • Residential treatment programs
    • Community-based youth programs and NGOs
    • Hospital emergency departments and pediatric behavioral health
    • Victim services and advocacy agencies
    • Child welfare and social service agencies
    • School safety and private security operations
    • HR departments in youth-serving organizations

Presented By

Laura S. Guy, PhD Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University

Laura S. Guy obtained her BA in psychology at McGill University in Quebec, MA in clinical (forensic) psychology at Sam Houston State University in Texas, and PhD in clinical (forensic) psychology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. She completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in forensic psychology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS). She has Board Certification in Forensic Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology and is registered to practice psychology in Canada and the United States. As part of a team at Protect International, she conducts workplace violence risk assessments and is a psychologist with the Forensic Psychiatric Services Commission of British Columbia. She was on faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at UMMS from 2009 to 2015 and currently is Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University. She is active in research, having received research grants from federal agencies in the United States and Canada and is the (co)author of over 150 articles, chapters, reports, manuals, and presentations. She is active in professional organizations, serving as Senior Editor of Journal of Threat Assessment and Management; ad hoc reviewer for more than 17 journals, as well as several granting agencies; and a board or executive committee member of several professional organizations, including Business Secretary of the Canadian Association of Threat Assessment Professionals. She has consulted with and provided training workshops for mental health, law enforcement, probation, corrections, and legal professionals in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region.

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Laura S. Guy, 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.