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Building Capacity

Building capacity of mental health practitioners to assess and manage risk for targeted violence and terrorism in community settings

Harm toward others is a known risk, yet mental health professionals working outside of forensic settings have few if any tools they can use to identify, assess, and respond to risk for violence when concerned about their clients’ well-being. To fill an important gap in the field, the Trauma and Community Resilience Center (TCRC) at Boston Children’s Hospital created the first risk assessment and management tool for targeted violence that can be used by mental health professionals working in a variety of clinical settings
 
The Targeted Violence and Terrorism Strengths, needs, and risks: Assessment & Management Tool (T-SAM) offers mental health professionals a collaborative, client-centered approach to assessment and management of risk for both adults and children. T-SAM development was informed by an evidence-based, suicide-focused therapeutic framework known as the Collaborative Assessment & Management of Suicidality. Items included in T-SAM assessment are the result of a thorough review of existing violence risk assessment tools, research on risk and protective factors for targeted violence, and expert input. 

In 2023, 50 mental health professionals working in diverse clinical settings across the U.S. (e.g., schools, hospital clinics, social service non-profits, mobile crisis teams, forensic settings, EAPs) received training in the T-SAM as part of a pilot program. Following the training, the cohort reported significant improvements in confidence related to identifying, assessing, and treating individuals at risk of targeted violence. Findings further suggest that the T-SAM is helpful in clarifying duty to warn and motivations for targeted violence, guides clinicians’ understanding of what to ask when, uncovers risk for other types of violence, and facilitates an individualized process for building treatment plans focused on violence prevention.

For more information on the T-SAM, please contact the lead developer, Dr. Emma Cardeli (Emma.Cardeli@childrens.harvard.edu). If you or your agency is interested in an in-person or virtual T-SAM training, please complete the following brief survey: https://qualtricsxmn536fhzfy.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_brP186wigOc6xiS.

Prevention in Practice Learning Community (PPLC)

The Prevention in Practice Learning Community (PPLC), co-hosted by the Prevention Practitioners Network at Eradicate Hate Global Summit (EHGS), is a peer consultation space for mental health professionals working to prevent targeted violence. The PPLC is a supportive community of practice that aims to contextualize violence as an inherently human phenomenon and to help providers feel less alone in the work. On the first Thursday of every month at noon Eastern time, the PPLC hosts a webinar that features subject matter experts in targeted violence and covers topics relevant to clinical practice (e.g., diagnostic challenges, compassionate curiosity, the intersection of gender norms and violence risk, etc.), sharing concrete strategies for working with adolescents and adults at risk for violence due to grievances and/or beliefs. On the second Thursday of every month at noon Eastern time, the PPLC hosts a T-SAM case conference for any interested clinicians, including those who have not yet received formal training in the T-SAM.

If you’re interested in joining our community, please send an email to Neil Saul at EGHS (nsaul@eradicatehatesummit.org) to join the listserv!