Risk Assessment

Risk assessment is a broad term used in various industries from finance to weather prediction. Regardless of the field, risk assessment involves identifying areas of risk and developing a plan to reduce that risk. From a psychological perspective, this can range from evaluating an employee’s ‘fitness’ or ability to safely complete job tasks to assessing whether that individual is at risk for committing a violent act in the workplace. From schools to offices, everyone wants to feel safe. While the incidence of violence in these settings may be infrequent, the consequences can be devastating and even fatal. Risk assessment is a systematic and comprehensive investigation relying on research and not clinical intuition. Research is key to identifying risk factors related to a particular behavior along with protective factors which may decrease the likelihood of that behavior.