Forensic Assessment of Violence Risk

Mary Alice Conroy, PhD, ABPP, directs the Psychological Services Center at Sam Houston State University. She is the President of the American Academy of Forensic Psychology. During a twenty-year career with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, she conducted over 1,200 risk assessments, including risk management planning. She conducts numerous national and training workshops on forensic assessment for lawyers, judges, correctional personnel, and mental health professionals. Daniel C. Murrie, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Sam Houston State University. He has authored numerous studies related to forensic psychological assessment and maintains a private practice of forensic psychological evaluation, specializing in risk assessment.

"Conroy and Murie have written a unique book. Readers will appreciate the useful appendixes, which include risk-assessment instruments and sample reports. This is a wonderful resource for those interested in assessing dangerousness in others. Highly recommended." (Choice, 4/08) "This is a very nice book, primarily aimed at psychology trainees and other professionals who are preparing for forensic careers. One of the things I like about this book is its primary focus on understanding, managing and communicating about violence risk rather than prediction of individual behavior. This is one of those "must have" books for forensic mental health professionals." (Journal of Psychiatric Practice, January 2008)

• Preface vii Acknowledgments xi1 Historical Overview of Risk Assessment 12 Introducing a Broad Model for Risk Assessment 163 Risk of What? Defining the Referral Question 344 What Do We Know Overall? Consider Normative Data and Population Base Rates 455 What Do We Know about Individuals Like This One? Empirically Supported Risk and Protective Factors 676 What Do We Know about This Individual? Idiographic Factors and the Need for Individualized Assessment 837 What Can We Say about the Results of a Risk Assessment? Risk Communication 998 From Risk Assessment to Risk Management 1359 Risk Assessment of Patients with Serious Mental Illness 15310 Risk Assessment with Sexual Offenders 17911 Risk Assessment with Juvenile Offenders 20212 Risk Assessment of Death Penalty Defendants 235Epilogue 255Appendix A Risk Assessment Instruments 259Appendix B Sample Risk Assessment Reports 269References 309Index 353