Rethinking Risk Assessment: The MacArthur Study of Mental Disorder and Violence
"This all-star team of scholars has taken violence research to a new level. At once grand yet humble, this book is elegantly written about research that is brilliantly conceived. Research just doesn't get any better than this. This book will be a godsend to clinicians who want practical tools to help their clients live safer lives." --Joel A. Dvoskin, PhD, ABPP (Forensic), University of Arizona Colleges of Law and Medicine"This highly readable book discusses the largest and most comprehensive study ever done or likely to be done on violence prediction among people with mental illness. This state-of-the-art study by an outstanding team of experts challenges the common belief that serious mental disorder predisposes people to behave violently. This work offers oan actuarial tool that will fundamentally alter clinical practice with regard to risk assessment. No one will be able to claim expertise in this area without reading this book." -- Marnie E. Rice, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, McMaster University"If it were possible to envision the ideal study of violence by persons with mental disorder -- carefully conceptualized, generously supported, large and multi-site, and meticulously measured and analyzed -- this is such a study. It represents a staggering accomplishment. Unprecedented in their scope, these findings challenge some aspects of the conventional wisdom in this area and support other, yielding both invaluable empirical information and practical assistance in risk assessment. The authors have provided essential knowledge for researchers, clinicians, administrators, attorneys, judges, and those who make and implement policy in this area." --Kirk Heilbrun, PhD, MCP Hahnemann University"Rethinking Risk Assessmentis an instant classic in forensic mental health, destined to become required reading for practitioners, as well as for smart administrators, lawyers, and policy-makers. It will have an immediate and profound impact on the way that mental health professionals assess violence risk. Although the research focuses on violence committed by mentally ill people released from civil psychiatric hospitals, the findings are relevant to professionals working in diverse settings. Practitioners who read the book may discover that some of the findings are consistent with their clinical experience, whereas other challenge conventional wisdom; regardless, as its title suggests, this book will force practitioners to reconsider the procedures they use to assess violence risk." --Stephen Hart, PhD, Simon Fraser University"This book describes the best-designed study that has ever been done on violence risk assessment. Dr. Monahan and his co-authors have done an amazing job and accomplished their goal of overcoming many of the methodological obstacles of prior research. They present an approach to violence risk assessment that incorporates multiple models of risk assessment and has the potential to improve the accuracy of assessing the violence risk of patients whom we evaluate in our daily clinical practices." --Renée Binder, MD, University of California, San Francisco