Violence Risk Intervention

Threat Assessment Teams

In the wake of school shootings, many states are requiring schools to establish "Threat Assessment Teams." The purpose of these multidisciplinary teams is to intervene with a student and their parents before violence occurs. 

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Collaboration

The best interventions for students who have threatened violence or acted violently in the past take a collaborative approach. Parents play a key role. Frequent communication between the school and home is enacted. Coaches, teachers, & community members are enlisted to create supportive interactions with the student. This approach has been shown to reduce aggressive and behavioral issues (Garcia-Carrion et al., 2019).

Assesment Tools

There are various tools available to conduct a threat assessment. Assessment tools are critical in conducting a threat assessment. The assessment will inform the intervention and provide documentation. An example is linked below.

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Mental Health Counseling

Both individual and group counseling help reduce aggressive behavior in children. Best practices are anger management interventions that focus on skill building and cognitive behavioral therapy. Equally important is fostering healthy connections between the student and the school (Garcia-Carion et al., 2019), (Waschbusch et al., 2019). Click below for a free SAHMSA workbook.

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Outcomes 

 Approximately 80% of threat assessments yield no threat of violence. 13.4% of threat assessments found there was a serious risk of physical violence (fighting), and 4.7% of assessments were very serious (homicidality, rape, use of deadly weapon). 94% of cases were resolved, and no violence occurred. (Maeng et al., 2023)

Peer Mediation

Most threats of violence are rooted in student arguments, hurt feelings,  and peer relationship issues. Therefore, peer mediation may help students resolve their conflicts in a nonviolent way. Peer mediation should include teaching students healthy communication strategies. Click the link below to learn more about healthy conflict resolution.

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