Professional Development Program

Stalking prevention in the helping professions

Presenter: Professor Michele Pathé

While around 15% of the general population report being stalked at some point in their life, some professions should be better prepared for these traumatic and potentially career-ending experiences.  In particular, any occupation that has contact with mentally disturbed, lonely or aggrieved individuals is at greater risk of stalking victimisation by clients/patients of both genders.  This presentation will provide an overview of stalking behaviours, motivations, the wide-ranging risks they pose and how this knowledge can be applied to avoid falling victim to such intrusions.  It will incorporate strategies for early intervention and the management of established stalking.

The training is recommended for all mental health practitioners in general, forensic, adult and youth sectors, as well as professionals in justice, tertiary education and law enforcement settings.

Professor Michele Pathé has been a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist with Forensicare and a Professor at the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science. She was instrumental in establishing the Queensland and Victorian Fixated Threat Assessment Centres and has played a key role in developing Australia’s policy responses to lone actor grievance-fuelled violence. 

Instilling trauma-informed care when working with justice-involved individuals

Presenter: Dr Bonnie Albrecht

This training provides an overview of trauma-informed care and considers opportunities for instilling trauma- informed care and practice within services working with justice-involved clients. At the completion of this training, participants should have an understanding of the ethos, principles, and research underlying trauma-informed care, and practical approaches to enlivening trauma-informed care in their workplace. As part of this, participants will be invited to undertake personal reflection about their approaches towards clients, colleagues, and self-care.

This full-day training is suitable for clinicians working with justice-involved clients, whether in community, inpatient, or custodial settings. This training is also suitable for those who manage or supervise clinicians in such client-facing roles.

Dr Bonnie Albrecht is a Senior Psychologist with the Problem Behaviour Program, Forensicare and a Clinical Associate, Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Bonnie has been actively involved in trauma-informed care initiatives at Thomas Embling Hospital and the Problem Behaviour Program. 

Formulation of complex and potentially harmful behaviour

Presenter: A/Professor Troy McEwan

One of the most challenging aspects of working in forensic contexts is responding to behaviours that have the potential to cause significant harm (e.g., violence, threats, harmful sexual behaviour, stalking). To work effectively with such clients, professionals need to be able to formulate the client’s behaviour; i.e. understand and explain the behaviour and harm potential, and use knowledge this to guide risk management and intervention. Formulation of problem behaviour is particularly important in cases where there are multiple interacting comorbidities and co-occurring biopsychosocial challenges; in client groups with whom it can be difficult to establish a rapport; and in cases where there is a high risk of inconsistent management across agencies and over time.

The aim of this workshop is to teach a method of formulating problematic and potentially harmful client behaviour that goes beyond the application of structured risk assessment guides. The workshop will involve both didactic learning and case study-based practice.

Participants will finish the workshop with a framework for formulation that they can use to understand and communicate about concerning client behaviour, and to shape risk reduction and intervention efforts. This workshop is intended for health and human services professionals who are keen build their ability to work with clients who present with problematic and potentially harmful behaviour towards others.

A/Professor Troy McEwan is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, and a Senior Psychologist with Forensicare’s Problem Behaviour Program.  

Assessment and treatment of offenders with cognitive disabilities

Presenter: Dr Matt Frize

This training provides a summary of the current evidence base for risk assessment and treatment of offending behaviours of people with cognitive disabilities. By the completion of this training session, participants will have knowledge regarding the impact of cognitive disability on offending. Participants will also have knowledge regarding the validity and reliability of risk assessment measures for this population. Both cognitive behavioural and behavioural interventions will be explored, with a particular focus on the application of positive behaviour support and applied behaviour analysis.

This full day session is appropriate for clinicians who work with people with a cognitive disability in the community or custodial settings.

Dr Matt Frize is the Director of Forensic Disability & Secure Welfare Services for the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (Victoria).

Approaches for exploring occupational participation from a forensic mental health perspective

Presenter: Forensicare Occupational Therapy Educator Team led by Ms Danielle Ashley

Occupations are the everyday activities that people do in their daily life including the things that they do to look after themselves, things that they do that give meaning and purpose, and ways that they engage with their community and culture. This half day workshop will cover occupational therapy based approaches used to explore occupational participation from a forensic mental health perspective. Participants of this workshop will be shown practical ways of engaging people in conversations about their occupational participation, ways of exploring occupations that may cause harm, and strategies used to support change in occupational participation. This workshop will be interactive and case studies will be used to support participant learning. This training is suitable for occupational therapists, support coordinators, support workers, recovery coaches and others engaged in understanding the occupational lives of consumers. 

Ms Danielle Ashley is an Occupational Therapy Educator and the Allied Health Graduate & Psychology Registrar Program Project Lead at Forensicare. 

Assessing suicide and self-harm risk among clients involved in the justice system

Presenter: Dr Melanie Simmons

Individuals in the justice system are at greater risk of suicide and self-harm, but there is limited discussion of this high-risk population in most training, research, and mental health practice. At the completion of this half-day training, participants should be able to identify risk factors specific to justice-involved populations, understand how justice involvement may contribute to risk, and consider the complexities of managing suicide and self-harm risk in this population. This training will provide participants the opportunity to practice their skills through group activities and reviewing case studies. This training was designed for clinicians who work in general or mental health services or service providers who work with justice-involved clients. Participants should have an understanding of how to assess suicide and self-harm risk prior to attending.

Dr Melanie Simmons is a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist. She is a community member on the Adult Parole Board and the Chief Psychology Officer for the Department of Justice and Community Safety. Melanie was previously one of Forensicare’s Lead Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention Trainers, providing training to prison officers and community corrections staff on assessing and managing risk

*For online workshops, a link will be emailed to you one week prior to the training.

Working with people with high levels of psychopathy

Presenters: Dr Rajan Darjee

People with psychopathic personality traits are amongst the most challenging and concerning cases for professionals to work with. This one day training will give participants an overview of the latest research and best practice recommendations for working with people with significant psychopathic traits. It will cover the nature and definition of psychopathy; the aetiology and development of psychopathy; comorbidity, differential diagnosis and overlaps with other conditions; the association with offending and violence; and its life course. But the main focus will be on relevant practice skills and knowledge such as interview skills, assessment issues, treatment approaches, and risk assessment and management. Videos and case studies will be used to enhance the practical application of the training.

This is not training in using a particular instrument to assess psychopathy and no such prior training is required to attend. The day will be suitable for a wide range of professionals who work with or want to develop their skills in relation to people with psychopathic traits, including those who work in forensic or general mental health services, correctional services, law enforcement, child and family protective services, legal settings or other support/intervention services particularly for people who offend.

Dr Rajan Darjee: Deputy Specialty Director for Forensic Mental Health Services, Tasmanian Health Service; Adjunct Associate Professor, Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Swinburne University of Technology; Clinical Director (Psychiatry), Forensic Behavioural Assessment and Consultation Services. 

Working with people with paraphilic disorders

Presenters: Dr Rajan Darjee

Paraphilic disorders are conditions where individuals have atypical or anomalous sexual interests, urges or behaviour, which lead to distress or harm to themselves or others, including sexual offending. They are important risk factors for sexual offending, and the assessment and treatment of paraphilic disorders is central to intervention, risk reduction and rehabilitation with people who have caused sexual harm. This training will be of interest to professionals who work with people who have committed, or appear to be at risk of committing sexual offences. It will cover the latest research on the nature, prevalence, aetiology and development of paraphilic disorders; identification, assessment and formulation; risk assessment; and treatment, including both psychological and pharmacological approaches.

This one day training will be suitable for clinicians or other professionals working in forensic or other mental health services, correctional services or other organisations involved in work with those who commit sexual abuse or in the prevention of sexual abuse.

Dr Rajan Darjee: Deputy Specialty Director for Forensic Mental Health Services, Tasmanian Health Service; Adjunct Associate Professor, Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Swinburne University of Technology; Clinical Director (Psychiatry), Forensic Behavioural Assessment and Consultation Services.

Intimate partner sexual violence

Presenters: Dr Rajan Darjee

Research, practice and policy relating to sexual offending and intimate partner violence have developed quite separately. However, the most common victims of rape are men’s current or ex-intimate partners and sexual violence against an intimate partner is a risk factor for intimate partner homicide. Should practitioners work within sexual offending frameworks, intimate partner violence frameworks or a combination of the two? This one day training will provide a theoretical, conceptual and research overview of intimate partner sexual violence, and will cover important practice issues including risk assessment, treatment and management. After completion of the training participants should have a better understanding of these areas and will be able to apply an evidence based approach to working with people who commit sexual violence against their intimate partners. The training will include the use of case studies to enable participants to apply the learning to real life scenarios.

This one day training is suitable for anyone who works with perpetrators or victims of intimate partner violence and/or sexual abuse, including people working in forensic and general mental health services, correctional services, law enforcement, legal settings, victim survivor services, and children and family services.

Dr Rajan Darjee: Deputy Specialty Director for Forensic Mental Health Services, Tasmanian Health Service; Adjunct Associate Professor, Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Swinburne University of Technology; Clinical Director (Psychiatry), Forensic Behavioural Assessment and Consultation Services.

Working with complexity

Presenter: Mr Mark Megalla

This full day workshop offers the opportunity for case managers and therapists to enhance their knowledge and skills in the engagement and management of clients who present with complex needs, who are often mandated to engage with services. The clients that will be discussed are those who: have co-morbid health and mental health disorders, are reluctant to engage, pose risks to either themselves or others, have multi service involvement, and have been mandated for treatment by either civil or criminal justice orders. We will explore contemporary evidence- based practices regarding, the links between mental illness and offending, balancing risk mitigation and client recovery and client centred approaches to risk management. The ethical dilemmas and challenges of client confidentiality, particularly when communicating identified risks with other services will also be discussed. This will be an interactive session using case studies and there will be opportunities to reflect upon practice.

This session is suitable for experienced workers in both the government and non-government sectors and in the fields of mental health, disability, drug and alcohol, child protection and corrections.

Mr Mark Megalla is a Senior Accredited Mental Health Social Worker who works on Forensicare’s court based Mental Health Assessment & Referral Service (MHARS). He is also a Social work Educator at Forensicare.

Working with individuals who have committed sexual offending

Presenter: Dr Nicolas Kessous

This training will introduce participants to the assessment and treatment of individuals who have committed sexual offending. At the end of training, participants will demonstrate the knowledge and skills required to navigate “key” steps of assessment and treatment with this population:

• promoting client engagement
• conducting assessment interviews that yield information needed to score common risk assessment measures and identify relevant criminogenic needs
• helping clients understand their criminogenic needs
• completing offence chains with clients
• teaching clients skills to handle their criminogenic needs and stay crime-free
• completing self-management plans with clients
• responding to common challenges

In addition to theory and practice, participants will also learn how to maintain efficacy and resilience when working with individuals who have committed sexual offending, through a model of self-reflective practice and strategies for handling vicarious trauma and burnout.

This full-day training is suited for clinicians with core clinical and correctional knowledge and skills (e.g., basic knowledge and skills around the Risk-Need-Responsivity model, motivational interviewing, therapeutic interventions). The training will help clinicians adapt existing knowledge and skills to help them work with individuals who have committed sexual offending.

Dr Nicolas Kessous (he/him/his) is a clinical and forensic psychologist, and a clinical and forensic registrar program supervisor, registered with the Psychology Board of Australia. He has worked in Victoria’s Forensic Intervention Services where he was tasked with providing risk assessment and treatment services to clients who had previously committed sexual offences.

Tackling offending in individuals with autism and other common neurodevelopmental disorders

Presenter: David Thomas (Psychiatrist – Community Forensic Disability MH Service and the Problem Behaviour Program)

People with neurodevelopmental disorders have long been considered vulnerable to engaging in serious offending behaviours including physical assaults, criminal damage, stalking, rapes, homicides and fire setting. While there are some published reports of increased prevalence of these disorders (esp. autism and ADHD) in offender populations in both correctional and secure health facilities, the overwhelming majority of individuals living with autism never have any contact with the criminal justice system. Those that do engage in serious violent crime typically present with a range complex needs that cannot be effectively or adequately managed in mainstream health and correctional settings. It is well recognised that features of autism often create barriers to effective therapeutic engagement and the response rates to treatment programs are lower in this group than those in the general offender population.

In this full day session I intend to:

• Provide a brief overview of common neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Explore & take a closer look at common pathways that lead to criminal offending.
• Review the current evidence base on the links, if any, between these conditions and serious offending behaviours.
• Explore issues around the motivation for offending, links with psychopathy, schizophrenia spectrum disorders and other comorbid conditions.
• Explore measures that can be implemented to improve rehabilitative outcomes in forensic settings.

Attendees would be able to identify common neurodevelopmental disorders that are commonly encountered in forensic (community, prison and health) settings, identify common risk factors for offending and have a better understanding and appreciation of interventions to reduce recidivism and improve treatment/management outcomes.

This full-day training is suitable for clinicians working with individuals with intellectual disabilities and other neurodevelopmental disorders in contact with the criminal justice system.

David Thomas is a psychiatrist with Forensicare and Hon Research Fellow with the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science. He has had many years experience as a Consultant in Neurodevelopmental/ID Psychiatry in the UK. He was recently a psychiatrist with Victoria’s Statewide Forensic Disability Service He is currently with Forensicare’s Problem Behaviour Program.

Assessment of personality disorder for adults in forensic services

Presenter: Dr Nik Loft and Ms Claudia Mulder

There is a well-documented need for practitioners to have skills in identifying, assessing and providing clinical intervention for people with personality disorders. This workshop will focus specifically on the clinical and psychometric assessment of personality disorders. It will explore what personality and personality disorder is, and how the way clinical assessment of it has changed over time. It will offer an overview of categorical versus dimensional models of personality disorder, in addition to outlining a range of different approaches and tools to aid clinical assessment. Key considerations and challenges for assessing personality disorder will be discussed within the context of forensic services which will also include assessment of personality disorder for the courts. 

The workshop will be targeted to clinicians who assess and treat personality disorder as part of their work.

Dr Nik Loft is a Principal Psychologist at Forensicare’s Thomas Embling Hospital. Ms Claudia Mulder is a Principal Psychologist and Lead Clinician with Forensicare’s Personality Disorders Initiative.

Relational boundary management in clinical practice with people who have personality difficulties

Presenter: Dr Nik Loft and Ms Claudia Mulder

Working with people who have personality difficulties can be rewarding and also challenging. Current effective treatments for personality disorder all emphasise relational factors as the core pre-requisite for, or indeed perhaps the mechanism by which change occurs. Providing safe, predictable and responsive care which is helpful and not harmful to the consumer depends on sound relational boundaries. Yet clinicians often lack training and a language with which to discuss changes in therapeutic boundaries and there is limited understanding of effective management practices that services can implement to support the management of therapeutic boundaries. At present, inconsistent care and conflict between multiple service providers about treatment responses are common problems that arise in clinical practice and negatively impact both consumers and clinicians alike.

This workshop will describe a language and model to help clinicians understand the role they are taking up on the care-control continuum, know how to look out for and respond to changes in the therapeutic boundary, and implement practices within their organisation that can reduce or prevent the incidence of harmful outcomes for consumers with relational difficulties. 

This workshop is suitable for all mental health clinicians working within the mental health sector.

Dr Nik Loft is a Principal Psychologist at Forensicare’s Thomas Embling Hospital. Ms Claudia Mulder is a Principal Psychologist and Lead Clinician with Forensicare’s Personality Disorders Initiative.

Understanding and assessing young people at risk of violence

Presenter: Dr Adam Deacon and Susan Hancox

This full day workshop will provide participants with an understanding of the risk factors for violence in young people and discuss the implications for assessment and management. Case examples will be utilised throughout including a case review by Dr Deacon. He will focus on the criminogenic needs and idiographic factors leading to his formulation and risk summary. Participants will have the opportunity to work through a case, applying a risk assessment framework. This will be followed by a review of the assessment task, highlighting the process of identifying risk and protective factors and considering how they can be incorporated into a risk management plan.

Dr Adam Deacon is a Consultant Psychiatrist at Alfred Health. Susan Hancox is the Youth Justice Mental Health Coordinator at Forensicare.

Formulation of complex and potentially harmful behaviour

Presenter: Professor Troy McEwan

One of the most challenging aspects of working in forensic contexts is responding to behaviours that have the potential to cause significant harm (e.g., violence, threats, harmful sexual behaviour, stalking). To work effectively with such clients, professionals need to be able to formulate the client’s behaviour; i.e. understand and explain the behaviour and harm potential, and use knowledge this to guide risk management and intervention. Formulation of problem behaviour is particularly important in cases where there are multiple interacting comorbidities and co-occurring biopsychosocial challenges; in client groups with whom it can be difficult to establish a rapport; and in cases where there is a high risk of inconsistent management across agencies and over time.

The aim of this workshop is to teach a method of formulating problematic and potentially harmful client behaviour that goes beyond the application of structured risk assessment guides. The workshop will involve both didactic learning and case study-based practice.

Participants will finish the workshop with a framework for formulation that they can use to understand and communicate about concerning client behaviour, and to shape risk reduction and intervention efforts. This workshop is intended for health and human services professionals who are keen build their ability to work with clients who present with problematic and potentially harmful behaviour towards others.

Professor Troy McEwan is a Professor at the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, and a Senior Psychologist with Forensicare’s Problem Behaviour Program.

Planning and delivering effective forensic group programs

Presenter: Dr Flora Gilbert and Dr Kate McGregor

This two-day training covers theoretical, evidence-based and practical aspects of planning, implementing and delivering group programs to justice-involved individuals. At the completion of the training, participants will understand the theory and evidence-base underpinning forensic group interventions, the key considerations for effectively planning and running groups in the forensic context, and the core skills required to facilitate change in the group therapy environment. The training will be interactive and involve experiential reflective and practical exercises designed to build effective group facilitation skills.

This two-day training is suitable for clinicians involved or interested in the delivery of group programs within forensic mental health or correctional settings.

Dr Flora Gilbert is a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist. She is the Principal Psychology Educator, Forensicare. Dr Kate McGregor is a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist at Forensicare, where she works in the role of Psychology Educator – Professional Development and Training.  

Intractable grievances: Navigating the culture of blame

Presenter: Professor Michele Pathé

We live in a burgeoning culture of blame, where professionals are increasingly subject to complaints and associated risks from clients they are treating or servicing.  Clinical and academic interest in pathological grievances had long ago waned but an upsurge in complaints and their far-reaching impacts call for greater awareness of the problem and effective interventions.

This presentation will consider the characteristics of abnormally aggrieved persons and querulants, their psychopathology and their impact in various settings.  It will discuss strategies for responding to pathological complaints and grievances at both an individual and organisational level.

This training is recommended for all mental health practitioners and other health workers, as well as professionals in justice, tertiary education, law enforcement and agents of accountability.

Professor Michele Pathé was previously a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist with Forensicare and a Professor at the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science. She was instrumental in establishing the Queensland and Victorian Fixated Threat Assessment Centres and has played a key role in developing Australia’s policy responses to lone actor grievance-fuelled violence. 

Working with people who commit sexual offences

Presenter: Dr Rajan Darjee and Dr Rachael Watson

Fear, hatred, disgust and banishment dominate societal discourse about those who commit sexual offences. Legal measures to control the risk posed by sexual offenders are expanding. In this context, it is important that practitioners and services understand the research evidence base and best practice in the assessment, treatment and management of those who sexually offend.

This full-day workshop will give attendees an up-to-date detailed and evidence based overview of: the nature and prevalence of sexual offending; theoretical models of sexual offending; the relationship between sexual offending and mental disorders; risk factors, protective factors and risk assessment; managing sexual offenders; pharmacological treatment; psychological treatment; and, online sexual offending.

It is suitable for practitioners from mental health, correctional, police or legal backgrounds who want to develop their knowledge of sexual offenders.

Dr Rajan Darjee: Deputy Speciaty Director for Forensic Mental Health Services, Tasmanian Health Service; Adjunct Associate Professor, Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Swinburne University of Technology; Clinical Director (Psychiatry), Forensic Behavioural Assessment and Consultation Services.