Violence Risk

Violence Risk
by Christopher Webster, PhD

Assessment of risk of violence has always been a concern, not only for the general public but particularly for those in the mental health, forensic, and the correctional fields. Violence risk transcends geographical boundaries and we are fortunate to have a collaborative community of colleagues from around the world who dedicate themselves to the study & dissemenation of knowlege in this area. Christopher Webster, PhD, is privileged to be a part of this cadre and welcomes you to his site, developed to contribute to this field of study

A Bit About Chris ...

Christopher Webster, Ph.D., FRSC, C.Psych is a mental health research & training consultant in Toronto, Ontario. He holds clinical-academic appointments as a Senior Research Consultant in the Forensic Program at St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton and as Professor of Psychiatry in the Forensic Division of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University in Hamilton. In addition, he is also Senior Research Consultant with Earlscourt Child and Family Centre and with workplace.calm inc, both in Toronto. He is Professor Emeritus and past Chair of the Department of Psychology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.

A specialist in violence risk assessment and management, he has written and edited several books and guides on the subject with colleagues in Ontario and British Columbia. He travels widely to conduct training workshops in the HRC-20 and to lecture about risk assessment. His clinical experience has been in counselling men on parole, group treatment of sex offenders, and group treatment of children and adolescents with emotional and behavioural difficulties. His research interests include behavioural and adjustment difficulties in children, the relationship between mental disorder and crime, and workplace violence.

In recent years, he has participated in a number of educational programs provided by the National Parole Board and he is an active member of the Ontario Review Board which is responsible for making release decisions for forensic patients. With respect to the latter, he co-authored a newly-released book on the subject: Release Decision Making (2003).

In 2002 the Clinical Division of the American Psychological Association honoured him with a Career Achievement Award. He is a fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association, the American Psychological Association and the Royal Society of Canada.

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