Managing Clinical Risk

Book excerpt: The second edition of Managing Clinical Risk is an authoritative guide on how to engage in risk assessment and management practice in evidence-based, accountable and effective ways. Over the course of a dozen chapters, each oriented around a brief case study reflecting a different area of risk, practitioners are offered guidance on how to read referrals, how to decide what information matters to their evaluations, how to speak to a person who may be reluctant to engage in an assessment of this kind, how to organise the information they have gathered in order to prepare a risk formulation that will in turn guide risk management, and how to communicate opinions and recommendations in ways that have an impact. The book provides an evidence-based understanding of risk assessment and management in key areas of practice – violence, sexual violence, suicidal and self-harmful behaviour, as well as family and relationship violence, organised criminal and group-based violence, and violent extremism. Practices relevant to understanding violent behaviour in individuals are contrasted with those better suited for working with groups and organisations. How practitioners can take account of the diversity of the clients with whom they work is a central consideration in every chapter. And helping practitioners develop the skills to enable them to formulate risk where there may be multiple areas of concern is a key objective of this book. All the contributors to this updated guide to effective practice are scholar-practitioners – experienced professionals with a track record of writing and teaching about risk assessment and management practice in their respective fields. Therefore, this book contains realistic rather than idealistic representations of the work required to prevent harmful behaviour by the kinds of clients they work with. Together, contributors combine theoretical and research knowledge with a wealth of practical skills, emphasising the collaborative and recovery-focused nature of modern risk management.