3 Hours / 3 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Violence Prevention is presented by Kelly A. Watt, Ph.D. in partnership with Protect International.

In most cases, it is possible to identify warning signs for violence risk and to prevent violence from occurring. However, many professionals working with those who may pose a risk of violence have not been provided with the information or skills necessary to engage in violence prevention effectively. 

Learning Objectives

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

  • 1 Describe the nature, prevalence, and impact of workplace violence
  • 2 Describe how to identify and report primary and secondary warning signs for violence risk
  • 3 Describe how to prevent workplace violence as an individual
  • 4 Describe how to prevent workplace violence as an organization
  • Intended Audience

    This training is designed for psychologists, social workers, counselors, and other professionals who are committed to identifying and preventing violence risk among clients. It is particularly relevant for those specializing in behavioral health, clinical psychology, counseling, risk assessment, and crisis intervention, and provides practical tools and up-to-date strategies for assessing and managing violence risk.

    Examples of Relevant Professionals:
    • Mental Health Professionals
    • Clinical Psychologists
    • Counseling Psychologists
    • School Psychologists
    • Forensic Psychologists
    • Clinical Social Workers
    • School Social Workers
    • Community-Based Social Workers
    • Mental Health Counselors
    • School Counselors
    • Crisis Counselors
    • Risk Assessment Specialists
    • Crisis Intervention Specialists
  • Experience Level

    This training is appropriate for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals at various stages of experience in violence risk identification and prevention.

    • Beginner: Participants new to workplace violence prevention who seek foundational knowledge about the nature, prevalence, and impact of workplace violence, as well as basic strategies for identifying and reporting warning signs.

    • Intermediate: Participants with some prior experience or training in violence risk assessment who wish to deepen their skills in identifying primary and secondary warning signs and implementing individual and organizational prevention strategies.
  • Practice Setting

    Practitioners operate in multidisciplinary, protocol-driven behavioral health and organizational environments focused on early warning sign detection, structured risk assessment, and coordinated prevention and crisis response. Work spans clinical, educational, community, and justice-involved contexts, delivered via in-person, mobile, and telehealth services by licensed and pre-licensed providers across experience levels.


    Examples of Practice Settings:
    • Outpatient mental health clinics and integrated primary care
    • Hospital inpatient psychiatry and emergency departments
    • School-based mental health services and university counseling centers
    • Community mental health agencies and mobile crisis teams
    • Crisis hotlines/call centers (e.g., 988 centers)
    • Forensic hospitals, correctional facilities, and court liaison services
    • Probation/parole and reentry programs
    • Domestic violence shelters and victim advocacy programs
    • Substance use treatment programs and residential facilities
    • EAP and workplace wellness/HR

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.

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.