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New Tools For Assessing the Risk for Violence
- By Kathryn Seifert
- Published 06/15/2009
- Psychology
- Unrated
Kathryn Seifert
Dr. Seifert has over 30 years experience as a psychotherapist. She has created guided imagery CD's and MP3 downloads for relaxation and wellness. These popular CD's are also used for pain management and sports enhancement. We all have untapped wisdom within us. Discover yours. Don't miss this exciting new resource. Listen to clips at
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The majority of mentally ill people are not prone to violence. However, other background demographics (those who have been abused, neglected, or exposed to domestic violence in childhood, for example), in addition to untreated mental health and substance abuse problems, play a large part in the making of a violent individual. Mental health treatment is needed in the community, and we must make sure there is sufficient treatment for mentally ill offenders in the criminal justice system.
The lack of funding for the community mental health movement has mental hospitals discharging patients with serious and persistent mental health issues, without sufficient resources in the community to take care of their needs. Some of these patients are dangerous to themselves and others. "Dangerousness is a separate issue from Mental illness. It is assessed differently, and in many cases there are interventions that can reduce the risk of future aggression.
The criminal justice system has become the place where a proportion of our chronically mentally ill people (those who have been released from psychiatric hospitals without sufficient community supports) find themselves, so it's vital that health professionals inside and outside of the criminal and juvenile justice systems know how to help improve mental health AND reduce and assess and manage violent behaviors. "Dangerousness is a separate issue from Mental illness.
It is assessed differently, and in many cases there are interventions that can reduce the risk of future aggression.
Additionally, recent homicides by youth that fill the news have all of us questioning the safety our communities where those at risk for inappropriate and illegal behaviors reside. Officials wonder if it is acceptable to allow these individuals to live, unsupervised, in the city, and how the authorities can prevent them from harming others. We must assess risk for violence and find ways to manage and prevent risk.
It is imperative that we are able to determine who needs higher levels of structure and supervision. Clinical judgment is only right about future risk of violence about 52% of the time. Those who presently using clinical judgment to determine the future risk of violence that an individual poses to the community, are not using the most up to date assessments provided by science.
Risk assessments for youth include the SAVRY, CARE 2 and the PCL-YV for youth, and the VRAG, HCR-20, and RME for adults. With these tools, professionals can determine the level of security and structure an offender may need. Mental health professionals can determine and manage the risk of violence of their clients. These assessments were created specifically for situations where individuals pose a severe threat to the community. Authorities can use them to prevent future violence and to help community residents feel safer.
The lack of funding for the community mental health movement has mental hospitals discharging patients with serious and persistent mental health issues, without sufficient resources in the community to take care of their needs. Some of these patients are dangerous to themselves and others. "Dangerousness is a separate issue from Mental illness. It is assessed differently, and in many cases there are interventions that can reduce the risk of future aggression.
The criminal justice system has become the place where a proportion of our chronically mentally ill people (those who have been released from psychiatric hospitals without sufficient community supports) find themselves, so it's vital that health professionals inside and outside of the criminal and juvenile justice systems know how to help improve mental health AND reduce and assess and manage violent behaviors. "Dangerousness is a separate issue from Mental illness.
Additionally, recent homicides by youth that fill the news have all of us questioning the safety our communities where those at risk for inappropriate and illegal behaviors reside. Officials wonder if it is acceptable to allow these individuals to live, unsupervised, in the city, and how the authorities can prevent them from harming others. We must assess risk for violence and find ways to manage and prevent risk.
It is imperative that we are able to determine who needs higher levels of structure and supervision. Clinical judgment is only right about future risk of violence about 52% of the time. Those who presently using clinical judgment to determine the future risk of violence that an individual poses to the community, are not using the most up to date assessments provided by science.
Risk assessments for youth include the SAVRY, CARE 2 and the PCL-YV for youth, and the VRAG, HCR-20, and RME for adults. With these tools, professionals can determine the level of security and structure an offender may need. Mental health professionals can determine and manage the risk of violence of their clients. These assessments were created specifically for situations where individuals pose a severe threat to the community. Authorities can use them to prevent future violence and to help community residents feel safer.