Risk Formulation: The New Frontier in Risk Assessment and Management

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the structured professional judgement (SPJ) approach to the clinical risk assessment and management of men and women whose sexual behaviour is harmful to others. The SPJ approach promotes the use of clinical guidelines—such as the Risk for Sexual Violence Protocol to help practitioners appraise the relevance of risk factors to the individual client and to create an understanding of that person’s risk potential, on the basis of which comprehensive and proportionate risk management plans can be prepared, implemented, evaluated, and repeatedly updated towards managed risk. This chapter makes the case that the most important part of the clinical risk assessment and management process using the SPJ approach is risk formulation—the process of generating an understanding of harmful behaviour that directly links assessment findings to management actions.