1.5 Hours / 1.5 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Structured Professional Judgement (SPJ) is presented by Kelly A. Watt, Ph.D., in partnership with Protect International Risk and Safety Services.

This program provides an overview of the core steps involved in conducting a violence risk assessment using Structured Professional Judgement. Structured Professional Judgement is one of the most widely used approaches to violence risk assessment in the world.

Advances have been made to the core steps for using SPJ supported by both research and practice and reflected in the most recent tools (e.g., RSVP, SAM, HCR-20 V3, SARA V3). The importance of each of these steps is discussed as well as challenging issues that often arise.

Learning Objectives

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

  • 1 Describe how to identify and gather relevant information
  • 2 Describe the presence of risk factors
  • 3 Describe the relevance of risk factors
  • 4 Discuss how to develop a formulation of risk
  • 5 Discuss how to develop case management plans
  • 6 Demonstrate how to communicate findings

  • Intended Audience

    This training is intended for professionals who are responsible for evaluating, managing, or responding to potential violence and who want to strengthen their knowledge and skills in violence risk assessment and threat management using the Structured Professional Judgment (SPJ) model. It is designed for individuals whose core responsibilities include violence risk management, threat assessment, or related functions across a range of disciplines.


    Examples of Relevant Professionals:
    • Threat assessment specialists
    • Forensic psychologists and forensic psychiatrists
    • Law enforcement officers and security professionals
    • Corrections and probation officers
    • Mental health professionals
    • Social workers and social service providers
    • School counselors and education administrators
    • Human resources and workplace safety managers

  • Experience Level

    This training is appropriate for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals at various stages of experience with violence risk assessment using Structured Professional Judgement (SPJ).

    • Beginner: Participants new to violence risk assessment or SPJ will gain foundational knowledge of the core steps, relevant risk factors, and basic case management planning.

    • Intermediate: Participants with some experience in SPJ or violence risk assessment will deepen their understanding of the significance and challenges of each step, and enhance their ability to formulate risk and communicate findings.

    • Advanced: Participants with extensive experience in SPJ or violence risk assessment will refine their skills in addressing complex cases, integrating recent advances, and navigating challenging issues in risk formulation and management.

  • Practice Settings

    Professionals practice in safety-critical, multidisciplinary environments where they evaluate and manage potential violence using SPJ-guided procedures and contemporary tools. Work is driven by policy and evidence, emphasizing confidential record review, interagency coordination, structured formulation, and clear documentation and communication of risk and management plans. Settings support applied learning across experience levels, from foundational assessment steps to advanced case formulation and management of complex scenarios.


    Examples of Practice Settings:
    • Forensic hospitals and secure psychiatric units
    • Outpatient mental/behavioral health clinics
    • Law enforcement threat management or behavioral assessment units
    • Corporate threat assessment/workplace violence prevention teams
    • K–12 school districts and higher education behavioral intervention teams
    • Probation/parole agencies and community corrections
    • Correctional facilities and custody settings
    • Courts, specialty dockets, and pretrial services
    • Social service and community-based agencies
    • Security operations centers and protective services departments

Presented By

Kelly A. Watt, PhD Threat Assessment Specialist at Protect International

Dr. Kelly A. Watt obtained her BA in psychology at Simon Fraser and her MA and PhD in psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She worked as a Psychology Fellow at Vancouver Coastal Health between 2008 and 2010. She currently works as Threat Assessment Specialist at Protect International and a Workplace Consultant at Competence Center Bergen. She is a member of the Mental Health, Law, and Policy Institute at Simon Fraser University. Her expertise is in the field of clinical- community-forensic psychology, with a special focus on violence risk assessment and management, victim safety planning, coordinated community responses, and threat assessment teams. She has co-authored more than 75 articles, chapters, reports, and presentations and is the co-author of manuals for risk assessment and safety planning, including the Risk for Sexual Violence Protocol (RSVP), and the Aid to Safety Assessment and Planning (ASAP). She is currently the editor of Intelligence, the newsletter of the Canadian, American, European, and Asia Pacific associations of threat assessment professionals. She also currently serves the chair of special interest group for the Canadian Association of Threat Assessment Professionals. She has provided over 120 invited presentations and workshops for mental health, law enforcement corrections, security, victim services, social services, human resources, occupational health and safety, and legal professionals in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

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Kelly A. Watt, 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.