Assessing & Treating Dangerous, At-Risk Clients
You don't need a breakdown of the statistics to know that suicide and homicide are rampant in our world. Violence in our own homes and daily public venues has amplified the urgency of serious questions among the public and professionals alike about viable options and possible solutions for how to handle those who could hurt themselves and/or others. As mental health practitioners, we must lead the way to properly assess, treat, and intervene as necessary for at-risk clients, yet many mental health professionals are not fully prepared or thoroughly trained for such critical tasks.

This in-depth course provides all the latest research and evidence-based tools to ensure your ability to prevent harm and promote health for dangerous, at-risk patients with successful short– and long-term outcomes. Gain tried and true assessment methods for effective psychological triage and recognize vital components of risk and danger in clients. Practical intervention methods are discussed for effective treatment of at-risk patients spanning various cultures/ethnicities, psychopathology, mental health problems, dysfunctional relationships, as well as co-occurring and personality disorders. In conjunction with pinpointing the requisite evaluation, intervention, and wellness recovery tools needed to meaningfully address and treat dangerous clients, you gain two hours of ethics by examining the common clinical practice challenges, mistakes, and scenarios. Don't wait for another tragedy to strike; be prepared to defuse any harm that clients might do to themselves and/or others.

Course Outline

SUICIDE/HOMICIDE/DUAL DEATH

• Current research
• Incidence
• Cultural and ethnic etiology
• Current trends

RISK ASSESSMENT

• Guidelines, formats, and methods at critical junctures of treatment and beyond
• Determining and identifying precursors, stressors, and triggers

THEORIES & INTERVENTION APPROACHES

• Death dealing dynamics
• Intervention and prevention approaches
• Distorted perceptions
• Philosophy of supposed benefit, effect, escape, change, and realignment
• Application to individual, couple, family, and group psychotherapy

EVIDENCE-BASED TREATMENT METHODS & INTERVENTIONS

WELLNESS SURVIVAL PLANS

• Collaborative development and implementation
• Patient-family education
• Crisis management and prevention
• Social network resource enhancement
• Realignment
• Treatment service accessibility

ETHICAL DILEMMAS

• Practical contextual guidelines
• Ethical challenges
• Group case studies for clinical assessment of critical at-risk patients