Workplace violence and school shootings are no longer rare, distant events. In 2025 alone, the U.S. has already experienced over 300 mass shootings—an average of 30 per month. While national attention often centers on schools, the truth is that clinicians across every environment—private practices, hospitals, EAP programs, and community agencies—encounter potential threats far more often than the public realizes.
Yet most mental health professionals report the same unsettling experience:
They know the clinical syndromes, but they do not feel prepared when a real-world threat emerges.
At Triad Psych, we believe this gap is both dangerous and solvable.
The Gap: Knowledge Without Applied Readiness
Most clinical training programs teach risk factors, warning signs, and crisis response protocols. That knowledge matters—but research and real-world events show it simply isn’t enough.
Clinicians routinely tell us:
- “I’m not sure what to do when someone in my office makes a threat.”
- “I know the risk factors, but I freeze in real-world situations.”
- “I’m unclear on what actually works after an incident to prevent retraumatization.”
These are not competency problems—they are applied readiness problems. Traditional training focuses narrowly on clinical symptoms, while real incidents involve complex environmental, organizational, and behavioral dynamics. This mismatch leaves clinicians vulnerable and clients underserved.
The result?
A knowledge vacuum around threat assessment, early detection, perpetrator profiles, and effective post-incident recovery.
And when information is scarce, misinformation fills the void—leading to poor decisions at the very moments when clarity matters most.
Why Applied Training Is Essential
Our course on workplace violence and school shootings is designed to eliminate the uncertainty clinicians experience in high-stakes situations. Participants learn:
- Concrete action plans for responding to threats.
- How to identify and interpret early warning signs—not just at the clinical level but in environmental and behavioral contexts.
- Differences among perpetrator types and what motivates each.
- How to tailor trauma interventions based on whether clients are primary, secondary, or tertiary victims.
- What to do—and what NOT to do—in the immediate aftermath of a violent incident.
This is not theoretical instruction.
It is applied, real-world training grounded in national threat assessment standards, decades of field experience, and the latest research.
Evidence Behind the Need
Studies consistently show:
- Clinicians vary widely in how they respond to traumatic events—often in ways that unintentionally worsen client outcomes.
- Knowledge-based trainings alone do not reduce violent incidents; skill-based de-escalation and threat response training does.
- Many EAP clinicians accept responsibility for threat-related incidents without receiving any formal preparation for them.
Research from BMC Psychiatry, the British Journal of Psychiatry, RAND Corporation, and the National Center for School Safety all highlight the same theme:
Without structured applied training, professionals cannot reliably prevent, de-escalate, or respond to violent incidents.
A Unique Perspective: Two Decades on the Front Lines
The course is taught by a clinician with:
- 4 years as Senior Clinical Manager at Magellan Behavioral Health, coordinating BellSouth’s national Threat Assessment Team.
- Nearly 20 years as an Area Clinician with the DEA, responding to critical incidents both domestically and internationally.
- National recognition as a subject matter expert, including training more police officers in personality disorders than any other U.S. trainer.
- A featured interview in ABC’s 2023 documentary One Nation Under Fire.
During his tenure leading threat assessment programs, no workplace violence incidents occurred—a testament to the effectiveness of proactive applied training.
Why This Matters for Every Clinician
Whether you work in private practice, an EAP network, a school, law enforcement, or a medical setting, you will at some point encounter:
- A client making threats.
- A student expressing violent ideation.
- An employee whose behavior raises concern.
- A community shaken by a nearby incident.
In those moments, hesitation can cause harm.
Confidence can save lives.
Our mission at Triad Psych is to equip clinicians with the clarity, readiness, and decisiveness necessary to respond effectively—not fearfully—when threats emerge. As well as our training classes we also offer rapid response consulting services for emergent threats.
Knowledge is important, but Applied skills are essential.
This course and our services bridges that gap.