The Clinical Application of Risk Assessment in the Treatment-Planning Process

In the past 10 years, there has been an impressive proliferation of information regarding the prediction of violence risk. Much of the information is devoted to describing the empirical basis of risk prediction and the various instruments available for the assessment of risk. Yet, there has been little discussion of how risk assessments can inform the therapeutic process. This article describes the application of risk assessment to clinical practice in a maximum-security forensic hospital. A brief discussion of the forensic systems issues is also included.