The Power of Forgiveness

Violence caused by mental illness has two sides: the random act suffered by the person who experienced the violence and the person with a mental illness who did not have the mental capacity to form criminal intent. Both sides are real. Both sides are relevant. And for both sides, it can feel impossible to move past the event.

However, when mental illness causes violence without intent, healing becomes easier. If each side understands what happened, forgiveness (including self-forgiveness) can help them let go of their anger, accept what happened, and heal enough to enjoy life again.

Feasible Risk Screening for Violence and Criminality

When evaluating a person’s risk and protective factors, it is not always possible to complete a comprehensive risk assessment. If so, risk screening is often more feasible. This support tool offers an initial evaluation of the most important risk and protective factors to determine a person’s level of concern for violence and criminal behaviour.

Dangerous People and Risky Solutions

Over the years, violence risk assessment has evolved from descriptive, unstructured clinical judgment to predictive, actuarial risk assessment formulas and now to explanatory, structured professional judgment that helps clinicians formulate risk management safety plans.

During the International Forensic Psychiatry Lecture Series, Dr. Michael Doyle discussed the three generations of violent risk assessments and his recommendations for forensic mental health professionals.

Examination of the Structured Assessment of Protective Factors for Violence Risk – Youth Version (SAPROF-YV) in Canadian Adolescents

The Structured Assessment of Protective Factors for Violence Risk – Youth Version (SAPROF-YV) is a new measure of protective factors. It is used with a risk-focused tool, such as the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY), to provide a more balanced and comprehensive assessment of violence risk in adolescents. Our study investigated the relationship between the SAPROF-YV and aggression in a sample of 69 adolescents. Using a retrospective follow-up study design, we reviewed files at an inpatient treatment centre and a probation office. The SAPROF-YV showed good convergent and discriminant validity with the SAVRY. The SAPROF-YV was predictive of the absence of minor verbal aggression. While the SAPROF-YV added incremental predictive validity to SAVRY Protective factors for minor verbal aggression, it did not add incrementally to SAVRY Risk factors in the prediction of any type of aggression. We discuss implications for future research and clinical applications.