Assessing risk of violence and sexual violence:
HCR-20, SAVRY, SVR-20 and RSVP
workshop and reliability courses
Professor Nicola Gray, Professor Robert Snowden
Hafal, St Fagans, Cardiff, Wales, UK; 8th-13th April 2013
The HCR-20 is a formal structured risk assessment tool that was designed to predict the future occurrence of violence. It combines information from Historical Factors, current Clinical presentation and a Risk Management plan, in order to guide clinical judgment about the likelihood of future violence and how it might be alleviated. The HCR-20 has been tested in many populations across the world and is regarded by many as the ‘gold-standard’ in risk management planning. This workshop will teach the current version of HCR-20, but will also give guidance on forthcoming changes (HCR:V3) is expected 2013. SAVRY is a downward extension of the HCR-20 designed for the prediction of violence in adolescents.
The SVR-20 examines risk factors known to be associated with risk of reconviction for sexual offences (including those to both adults and children) and aims to predict and manage the risk of sexual violence. The RSVP is a very similar instrument developed from the SVR-20. We will also demonstrate the (small) differences in the SVR-20 and the RSVP.
Training consists of a two 2-day workshop to learn about the HCR-20 and SAVRY and how to score, interpret and formulate risk. It also covers the evidence-base for the tool and several practice cases and group discussions. Any instrument is only useful if it is being properly applied. In the Reliability Workshop (2-days) participants are given a series of prepared cases to score. Their scores are then compared to ‘gold-standard’ scores (obtained by expert raters, and consensus scores) to give information on how well they are formulating risk using the HCR-20 and tips to help them improve their performance. Everyone attending this Workshop will receive a Certificate of Attendance and a report outlining their reliability on the HCR-20. The final day covers the SVR20 and RSVP, covering how to score and interpret the findings, the evidence-base, practice cases and group discussions.
Attendance is open to professionals from a wide range of disciplines. In the past we have trained psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, probation officers, etc. Indeed a ‘multi-disciplinary’ approach is encouraged.
Assessing risk of violence and sexual violence:
HCR-20, SAVRY, SVR-20 and RSVP
workshop and reliability curses
Professor Nicola Gray, Professor Robert Snowden
Hafal, St Fagans, Cardiff, Wales, UK; 8th-13th April 2013
Facilitators:
Professor Gray is a Consultant Clinical and Forensic Psychologist and is Head of Psychology for Pastoral Healthcare. She is the director of the Welsh Applied Risk Research Network (WARRN). She has published extensively in the fields of schizophrenia, risk assessment, and psychopathy. She is lead-author on several articles relating to the HCR-20 (see below). She uses the HCR-20 and SVR-20 as part of her routine practice in her work at Ty Catrin Personality Disorder Service, and has used the HCR20 and SVR20 in assessment for Courts and in her expert testimony in both criminal cases and child-care cases.
Professor Snowden is a forensic psychologist whose research includes the study of violence, sexual violence, psychopathy, and suicide. He has published extensively on the issue of the prediction of violent behaviour. He has lectured and taught on this topic to undergraduates, post-graduates, professionals, and government agencies for many years and has given training courses on issues such as HCR20 and psychopathy (PCL-R) on many occasions.
Gray, N. S., Taylor, J., & Snowden, R. J. (2011). Predicting violence using structured professional judgment in patients with different mental and behavioral disorders. Psychiatry Research, 187, 248-253.
Snowden, R. J., Gray, N. S., & Taylor, J. (2010) Risk assessment for future violence in individuals from an ethnic minority group in the UK. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 9, 118-123.
Snowden R. J., Gray N. S., Taylor, J. & Fitzgerald, S., (2009) Assessing risk of future violence in inpatients using the Classification of Violence Risk (COVR) Psychiatric Services 60, 1522-1526.
Gray N. S., Taylor J. & Snowden R. J. (2008) Predicting violent reconvictions using structured clinical judgment. British Journal of Psychiatry 192, 384-387.
Fees:
£650 for the 5-day course. Lunches and refreshments are provided. Materials are also provided. We thank the Welsh Government for financial support in subsidising this course. If individuals only want to take some part of the course (e.g., just SVR20 then please contact us to discuss this).
Further information and discussion of training needs can be sought from
Nicola Gray
WARRN
PO Box 5207
Cardiff CF5 9BR
phone number 02920 874937
email: