Introduction to Violence Risk/Threat Assessment: Legal Issues

Presented by Brianne Layden, Ph.D.

1 Hour | 1 CE

Every violence risk/threat assessment has the potential to wind up being reviewed before a court, tribunal, or review board. For this reason, violence risk/threat assessment professionals need to understand the key legal issues relevant to the services they deliver. In this program, Dr. Layden identifies the major legal duties that influence the practice of violence risk/threat assessment across jurisdictions. She also discusses how these duties sometimes conflict and provide recommendations for how to avoid, resolve, or mitigate such conflicts. Throughout, she uses case vignettes from her own practice to illustrate key points.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this program you will be able to:

  • Describe major legal duties that influence the practice of violence risk/threat assessment across jurisdictions

  • Describe conflicts that may arise among the various legal duties that influence the practice of violence risk/threat assessment

  • Describe the steps that can be taken to avoid, resolve, or mitigate conflicting legal duties relevant to the practice of violence risk/threat assessment

Presented By

Threat Assessment Specialist at Protect International Risk and Safety Services Inc. Brianne Layden, PhD

Dr. Brianne Layden obtained BA, MA, and PhD degrees in psychology at Simon Fraser University. She is a clinical and forensic psychologist specializing in the assessment and management of risk for violence toward the self and others. She works as a Threat Assessment Specialist at Protect International Risk and Safety Services Inc., is a contract psychologist with Forensic Psychiatric Services Commission of British Columbia, is an Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Simon Fraser University, and is the associate editor of Intelligence, an e-newsletter that keeps professionals up to date about recent advances in threat assessment around the globe. She also serves as a Member-at-Large for the International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services. Her expertise involves the assessment and management of self-directed violence and personality disorders, particularly borderline personality disorder, and intersecting risks (e.g., general and self-directed violence). She has provided training workshops and invited presentations for forensic mental health, law enforcement, corrections, security, victim services and higher education, and has co-authored over 50 articles and conference presentations. She is currently in the process of developing structured professional judgment tools for the assessment and management of self-directed violence.