Assessing and Managing Threats on Campus: A Day with Brian Van Brunt
May 7, 2014 ~ 8:30-4:30 ~ Monmouth University
CEU’s — 6 hours through National Board for Certified Counselors
8:00 - 8:30 Registration
8:30 - 10:15 Assessing Threats Made with Technology: Text to Email, Web to Social Media
Today's technology allows an aggressor to share a direct communicated threat via a text message, website, blog or email. A person may share a Facebook status update that creates hysteria in school or campus. The presenter will walk you through recent case studies of direct communicated threats and offer guidance in terms of BIT, conduct and counseling response. Each case will serve to illustrate the central premise of the program: rapid detection and intervention of social media and other forms of leakage must be paired with thoughtful, research-based assessment and management to truly mitigate potential threat.
10:15 - 10:30 Break
10:30 - 12:00 Using the Structured Interview for Violence Risk Assessment (SIVRA-35)
More and more campuses are looking to in-source the capacity to perform violence risk assessments by behavioral intervention and threat assessment teams. The Structured Interview for Violence Risk Assessment (SIVRA-35) is a thirty-five-item inventory designed by Brian Van Brunt, Ed.D., that is used to assist Behavioral Intervention Team members and clinical staff in conducting a more thorough and research-based violence risk assessment.
Those who complete the SIVRA-35 training can administer the SIVRA-35. The SIVRA-35 is designed as a structured interview and can be used by residential life staff (such as hall directors and executive housing directors), campus police, conduct officers, counselors, and psychologists, student affairs administrators, and anyone connected with the campus student of concern or Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT). Unlike other psychological tests focused on threat and danger to others, the SIVRA-35 is designed with non-clinical language and can be completed accurately by those without psychological or forensic training.
Those who complete the SIVRA-35 training can administer the SIVRA-35. The SIVRA-35 is designed as a structured interview and can be used by residential life staff (such as hall directors and executive housing directors), campus police, conduct officers, counselors, and psychologists, student affairs administrators, and anyone connected with the campus student of concern or Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT). Unlike other psychological tests focused on threat and danger to others, the SIVRA-35 is designed with non-clinical language and can be completed accurately by those without psychological or forensic training.
12:00 - 1:00 Networking Lunch (included with conference fee)
1:00 - 2:30 Completing SIVRA-35 and discussion of scoring
Based on his upcoming book in partnership with the American Counseling Association, Harm to Others: The Assessment and Treatment of Dangerousness, Dr. Van Brunt has put together a training for counselors, conduct officers, law enforcement and student affairs administrators to learn the foundational skills needed in order to conduct a threat assessment on a student of concern.
This advanced training takes staff beyond the knowledge of the SIVRA-35 risk factors, to better explore the foundational and practical skills of:
Based on his upcoming book in partnership with the American Counseling Association, Harm to Others: The Assessment and Treatment of Dangerousness, Dr. Van Brunt has put together a training for counselors, conduct officers, law enforcement and student affairs administrators to learn the foundational skills needed in order to conduct a threat assessment on a student of concern.
This advanced training takes staff beyond the knowledge of the SIVRA-35 risk factors, to better explore the foundational and practical skills of:
- Building rapport with the student
- Describing the nature of the interview to the student
- Addressing non-compliance and defensiveness during the interview
- Overcoming defensiveness and forming trust
- How to use circular questions to assess key risk factors
- Working with referral sources to form interview questions
- Address differences in culture, gender, and diversity
- Develop treatment plans to guide the next steps
- Avoid overcommitting to future actions
- Collecting data into a report back to the referral source
- Video Clips from the New Orleans Interviews will be used to demonstrate the concepts. http://nabita.org/resources/nolainterviews/
2:30 - 2:45 Break
2:45 - 4:30 Management Approaches for the Behavioral Intervention Team: what to do with students once the assessment is complete if they remain on campus. Training will review:
- Building rapport and addressing defensiveness
- Mandated Treatment: What is it and how can we do it well?
- Communication with the referral source; reducing silos
- Forming connection and addressing objectification
- Listening to their story and offering reframing
- Managing anger and addressing irrational thoughts
- Using Motivational Interviewing and Change Theory