1.5 Hours / 1.5 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

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

Violence Triage was developed to assist professionals and workplaces in fulfilling their professional obligations under statutory law, common law, and professional codes of ethics to screen for and respond to warning signs related to violence risk. Failure to do so could result in legal liability if actions failed to meet professional standards and resulted in harm to others.

Violence Triage helps professionals and workplaces to make immediate decisions about receiving and assessing information concerning warning signs for violence risk, develop an action plan for resolution, and meet organizational reporting requirements. By using an evidence-based process to make these decisions, workplaces will protect themselves from potential liability and others from future harm.

Learning Objectives

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

  • 1 Describe an overview of Violence Triage
  • 2 Describe professional obligations under statutory law, common law, and professional code of ethics
  • 3 Describe how to respond to warning signs related to violence risk
  • 4 Describe legal liability if actions failed to meet professional standards
  • Intended Audience

    This training is intended for professionals who are responsible for assessing and managing violence risk in organizational or community settings, with a focus on those specializing in threat assessment, risk management, workplace safety, or violence prevention. It is relevant for individuals who play a key role in identifying, evaluating, and mitigating potential threats to safety within their organizations or communities.


    Examples of Relevant Professionals:
    • Threat Assessment Specialists
    • Risk Managers
    • Workplace Safety Officers
    • Human Resources Managers
    • Security Professionals
    • Law Enforcement Officers
    • Social Workers
    • Mental Health Professionals
    • School Administrators
    • Healthcare Administrators
  • Experience Level

    This training is appropriate for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals at various stages of experience with violence risk assessment and professional obligations.

    • Beginner: Participants new to violence risk assessment or unfamiliar with statutory, common law, and ethical obligations will gain foundational knowledge of Violence Triage and legal responsibilities.

    • Intermediate: Participants with some experience in violence risk screening or workplace protocols will deepen their understanding of evidence-based decision-making, action planning, and organizational reporting requirements.
  • Practice Setting

    They practice in organizational and community environments that require structured, evidence-based screening and triage of warning signs, rapid action planning, and compliant reporting. Work occurs within multidisciplinary teams and established protocols to meet statutory, common-law, and ethical obligations while reducing liability and preventing harm.


    Examples of Practice Settings:
    • Corporate threat management or HR compliance teams
    • University or K–12 behavioral intervention/CARE teams
    • Hospitals and healthcare system security/risk management
    • Community mental health agencies and social services
    • Law enforcement and public safety units
    • Government agencies and municipal workplaces
    • Security operations centers and contract security firms
    • Transportation, utilities, and critical infrastructure organizations
    • Retail, hospitality, and large venue/event operations

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.