Violence Risk and Threat Assessment Master Class Part One

Join Brian as he offers a unique, small cohort class format for those who have completed DPrep Safety’s Violence Risk and Threat Assessment Certification Course, ATAP’s Certified Threat Manager course, or NABITA’s advanced threat assessment course. This course is designed for threat and violence risk assessment professionals interested in increasing their knowledge through a hybrid learning approach with Brian.

The course is open to those practicing in college, workplace, and K-12 spaces. Training will be offered in a hybrid model of instruction, with these two online training days followed by two days of in-person workshops with live actors to demonstrate threat interviewing techniques (register for the in-person workshops separately). Additional instructors and subject matter experts will be invited to teach sections of the course to more fully explore concepts related to neurodiversity, cultural considerations, law enforcement perspectives, Title IX/VI/VII areas, legal considerations, documentation, open-source intelligence (OSINT), and physical safety/security.

Part I - REGISTER NOW AND RECEIVE A CODE FOR $300 OFF PART 2

Wednesday, July 23rd and Wednesday, August 6th

12:00 - 5:00 ET with a one-hour break from 2:00 - 3:00

Part II - REGISTER SEPARATELY

In-Person New Orleans | Monday-Tuesday October 20th and 21st

10:00 - 5:00 CT with an hour break for lunch

COURSE OUTLINE

Jujy 23: Introduction and Advanced Topics

This introductory session will allow the cohort a chance to get to know each other, discuss their work, and share their needs for the course. During this four-hour class, Brian will demonstrate aspects of the resource site and review the following areas:

Resources: We will review key databases, literature, and materials for the advanced threat assessment professionals. This will include a unique website access for cohort members that contains materials and summaries useful for their ongoing work. This will include an introduction to our guide outlining common weapons, tactics, and insider threat references.

Risk/Protective Factors: We will summarize key risk (dynamic and static) and protective/anchor and stabilizing factors. This will also include a discussion of various models that outline the movement/pathway towards violence.

Extreme Overvalued Beliefs: These EOBs have been a new area of research as they relate to mass attacks. Based on German neuropsychiatrist Carl Wernicke's concept of “overvalued ideas” in 1892, the concepts have been recently explored by Dr. Tahir Rahman and his team to better understand the motivations for the Norway attack in 2011.

From the Mind of Dr. Van Brunt: Having worked in the threat assessment field for over twenty years, Brian has had some thoughts. Brian has not taught many of these before, so you will be some of the first to discuss:

• Stephen King’s book Rage, which was pulled by the author
• The Joker as an archetype of school shooting
• The importance of leverage and optics in threat assessment/mitigation
• Connections and communications between mass shooters
• Tattoos related to mass shooters
• References you should know (“I hate Algebra,” supreme gentleman)
• Female mass violence attackers (Huntsville, Alabama shooting, thwarted Bartow attack, “I hate Mondays,” San Bernardino, Slenderman)
• The increasing trend of live-streamed attacks

The Use of AI in Threat Assessment: AI has been increasing in use by professionals in the threat assessment field. Brian will review several common platforms used and offer an introductory discussion of the pros and cons when using AI in terms of information privacy, accuracy, and ensuring each assessment is tailored correctly to the needs of the client.

Where to Start: Brian will introduce his “blank page” approach to initial case data gathering and how to organize information into an effective format that reduces bias when gathering information, assessing risk, and developing a risk mitigation plan.

Putting it into Practice: Brian will walk you through a sample case from the initial concerns to the final report.

August 6: Deep Dive

Structured Professional Judgement (SPJ) Models: Brian has written extensively on SPJs as they relate to addressing and reviewing threats and other concerning behaviors. Drawing from his book Harm to Others, Brian will walk cohort members through the SPJ process as it applies to case conceptualization and developing a threat assessment report.

Involuntary Celibate (Incel) Threat: This module will review the history of the incel philosophy including its origin and a review of several case examples where this spectrum of behavior led to violent actions. The Incel Indoctrination Rubric (IIR), developed from Brian’s book with Dr. Chris Taylor, Understanding and Treating Incels, will be reviewed and applied to case examples in the K-12, college, and workplace spaces. Educational measures related to bystander empowerment and interventions will be discussed.

The Use of AI in Threat Assessment: Threat assessment professionals are increasingly using AI platforms to assist in assessing threats and developing threat mitigation plans. This module will review the benefits and limitations of these resources and discuss how they can be used effectively (and ethically) in the threat assessment space.

Assessing Extreme Overvalued Beliefs (EOBs): Drawing from Brian’s book with Dr. Lisa Pescara-Kovach and Bethany Smith, White Supremacist Violence, and articles with Dr. Amy Murphy on Terrorist in Training: The Role of Social Media and the Rise of Terrorism through Nationalistic White Agenda and An Exploration of the Risk, Protective, and Mobilization Factors Related to Violent Extremism in College Populations, this module will introduce concepts such as cognitive openings, indoctrination, and radicalization as the issue of EOBs are applied to a violence risk/threat assessment process. In a specific application of EOBs, we will review a case involving white supremacist beliefs and apply a risk rubric to understand the escalation risk better. Case examples will be offered to further the participants' ability to practice these assessment techniques as part of a threat assessment.

Assessing Written Threats: Having designed several assessment measures and expert systems to assess written and social media threats, Brian will share core areas to look for during assessments and review the importance of maintaining a working knowledge of social media platforms and apps. Drawing from his book An Educator’s Guide to Assessing Threats in Student Writing and articles on Assessing Threat in Written Communications, Social Media, and Creative Writing, we will discuss using rubrics and expert systems when assessing social media and written threats.

Online Threat Assessment Considerations: Following Covid-19, there has been an increased use of threat assessment professionals who provide their services through a digital review of case details and an online interview. From questions of intake paperwork, information standards, and recording, Brian will share his insights on how to make the most of an online interview and how to share concerns when more information (or an in-person interview) is needed.

Addressing Bias in Threat Assessment: From the challenges present in gathering information to applying a risk rubric, threat assessment practitioners must be able to identify their bias and put steps into place to mitigate bias during information gathering and applying a triage or violence risk assessment approach. A structured rubric and question sheet to review during each phase (gathering information, assessing risk, and developing interventions) will be used in a case application to demonstrate these concepts.

Conducting Threat Assessments in Private Practice: From explaining your services to setting your price, Brian will share his insights regarding charging for threat assessment services to colleges, K-12 schools, and workplaces. He will share his experience with knowing when to ask for more information, how to deliver “bad news” (an assessment result that doesn’t align with what they wanted) to the client paying you, the importance of copyediting, using secondary SME readers, and when and how to offer system improvements beyond the scope of the initial assessment.

MATERIALS PROVIDED WITH PART 1

• Access to all training materials (videos, case studies, supplemental handouts, and rubrics) from the DPREP Safety Violence Risk and Threat Assessment Certification Course
• Advanced library collection of articles, books, summaries, and shooting databases for advanced practitioners
• Individual access to Pathways and Darkfox systems for one year
• Assessment rubrics for incel and white supremacist violence indoctrination risk
• Case study materials from the initial concern to the finished report on five new case studies across K-12, college, and workplace scenarios
• A guide on open-source social media searches and common platforms
• A guide outlining common weapons, tactics, and insider threat references
• Video recordings of our discussions from the virtual courses offered in Part I

YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Brian Van Brunt, EdD, is the Director of Behavior and Threat Management for D-Prep Safety and the President of the Workplace Violence Prevention Association. Author of over a dozen books, Brian has spent time as a child and family therapist, university professor, assistant deputy director of training at Secure Community Network, partner at TNG, and president of the National Association for Behavioral Intervention and Threat Assessment (NABITA). He is an internationally recognized expert in behavioral intervention, threat assessment, crisis preparedness, mental illness, and instructional design. Brian has provided consulting services to schools, colleges, and universities across the country and abroad on a wide variety of topics related to student mental health, counseling, campus violence, and behavioral intervention.