Live online sessions are scheduled for 1:00 PM ET on the second Wednesday of each month. Sessions include a one-hour expert presentation followed by the opportunity to participate in a 30-minute moderated roundtable discussion with peers to share questions, comments, and ideas for addressing complex threat cases. Participation in the roundtable discussion is not required to receive a certificate of completion. 

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​​January | 2027 Workplace Violence Prevention Update

 

​The new 2026 ANSI/ASIS National Standard for Workplace VIolence Prevention & Invention (WPVI) is described as not simply a revision of the existing standard, but a "fundamental re-engineering." Rather than providing an overview of policies, processes, and protocols that organizations can adopt, the new standard requires the establishment, implementation, maintenance, and improvement of a WVPI program. This includes a new operatioanal definition of workplace violence and six major shifts in how organizations address this risk. The new approach also ratifies “behavioral threat assessment & management” within this nationally and internationally applicable Standard. The new guidance-style ANSI Standard becomes a requirements-based, ISO management systems-aligned standard —something against which an organization can be measured or audited.  

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Start the year out right with an introduction to the new standard and an in-depth discussion of what that means to you, your team and your program.

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​​​February | AI-Influenced Targeted Violence: Exploring Threat Enhancers

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) can serve as a potent threat enhancer. There is a growing body of research demonstrating the effects of AI on users, specifically in terms of cognitive functioning, emotional regulation and impulse control, as well as in the use of AI tools to optimize tactical plans and execute attacks.  These are now foreseeable risks with  proof-of-concept cases, such as in the mass attacks at Florida State University and Tumbler Ridge, as well as the bombing in Palm Springs.  AI has now been used in planning and executing mass shootings, stabbings and bombings. This in-depth program explores the mechanisms of algorithmic sycophancy, synthetic reality distortion, and automated operational planning, as well as the neuropsychological dynamics that lower inhibitions and compress the timeline between violent fantasy and violent action.

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As AI is quckly becoming ubiquitous, it is reasonable for threat assessors and others involved in violence prevention to consider if it may be influencing a person of concern’s behavior. This will be increasingly important in terms of safety, security and the defensibility of the decisions made in behavioral threat assessment and management. Catch up and get ahead of curve in understanding how AI can influence a threat actor's progression along the pathway to violence. 

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(Participants will also receive a copy of the eBook, "Avoiding Failures of Imagination in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Threat Assessment Professionals").

 

March | AI-Influenced Threat Assessment & Management

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Beyond understanding how AI can act as a cognitive accelerant, an operational force multiplier, and a threat enhancer, the contemporary threat assessment professional also must actively explore the potential influence of AI into the threat assessment process; recognizing theoretical mechanisms is only the starting point. The operational imperative is translation: What observable behaviors, digital artifacts, linguistic cues, and collateral reports should multidisciplinary teams look for when screening or investigating a person of concern when influence of AI is a concern? 

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Whether a subject is under the influence of AI (experiencing cognitive erosion, reality distortion, or relational displacement) or using AI as a tool (leveraging models for tactical planning and evasion), behavioral threat assessors must evaluate specific markers at each phase of the  pathway to violence. While not disregarding or discounting the traditional markers of progression along the pathway, threat assessors must now also recognize those markers that are unique to the digital environment.

 

When a threat actor is operating under the influence of AI (experiencing reality testing erosion, AI psychosis or synthetic emotional enmeshment) or actively weaponizing AI (using generative models for tactical planning, evasion, or reconnaissance), conventional threat management playbooks face immediate operational friction. Standard interventions can fail—or inadvertently escalate risk—if practitioners do not account for the digital and psychological dynamics unique to AI-involved cases.

 

Building on the lessons of the February program, this session is dedicated to the assessment and management of AI-influence targeted violence cases. Each participant will receive a copy of the AI-Influence & Violence Risk Screening Questionnaire (AI-VR-SQ 1.6) along with the User's Guide so they can put the concepts discussed to immediate use. 

 

​​April | A Threat Assessment Professionals Guide to Psychopharmacology

 

The U.S. Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration and Johns Hopkins estimates the prevalence of mental illness in the U.S. is approximately one in four people (23.6%) with one out of every two people in the world developing a mental health disorder at some point in their lifetime, according to researchers from Harvard Medical School and the University of Queensland. Whether your team is involved in workplace, school and campus or community threat assessment and violence prevention, a significant portion of your case load will involve individuals with mental illnesses who may be using or have been prescribed psychiatric medications to address the symptoms of their condition. 

 

A foundational understanding of psychiatric medications equips Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) professionals to contextualize behavioral changes, distinguish true threat escalation from physiological side effects, and identify critical inflection points along a pathway to violence. Abrupt non-adherence or rapid dosage adjustments in medications such as antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, or SSRIs can trigger acute instability, akathisia (severe motor restlessness often mistaken for agitation), emotional blunting, or rebound psychosis. When threat assessors recognize how these pharmacological shifts interact with active life stressors, they can avoid misinterpreting withdrawal symptoms as premeditated hostility, better gauge a person of concern's baseline functioning, and identify sudden medication cessation as a potential destabilizing trigger.

 

Ultimately, basic pharmacological literacy bridges the gap between law enforcement, human resources, and mental health liaisons, allowing BTAM teams to design more precise, multidisciplinary off-ramps that prioritize stabilization over purely punitive intervention.

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​April | Navigating the Edgesphere

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Navigating the Edgesphere is an advanced, operationally focused webinar designed to equip behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) professionals with the frameworks required to detect and mitigate threats forming on the extreme margins of society and cyberspace. The contemporary threat landscape has fragmented far beyond conventional, centralized extremist networks, giving rise to an "edgesphere"—a decentralized, liminal zone where fringe digital subcultures, algorithmic echo chambers, nihilistic ideologies, and obscure online platforms converge. In this blurred space, fixated individuals often operate without traditional group affiliations or coherent ideological doctrines, making standard behavioral tripwires difficult to apply. This session provides threat managers, corporate security leaders, law enforcement, and intelligence liaisons with critical visibility into the digital and cultural margins where grievances incubate, accelerate, and transition toward mobilization.

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Attendees will dissect the behavioral architecture of the edgesphere, analyzing how anonymous forums, encrypted channels, and fringe micro-communities foster targeted radicalization, gamified violence, and grievance weaponization. The presentation examines practical methodologies for identifying distal warning behaviors, linguistic leakage, and synthetic influences before an individual moves into proximal planning or operational reconnaissance. Participants will leave with defensible investigation strategies, cross-jurisdictional information-gathering protocols, and risk mitigation strategies tailored to actors emerging from these unconventional operational environments, ensuring threat assessment teams can intervene effectively before edge-based volatility manifests as physical-world violence.

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​May | Heat & Violence Risk -- Thermal Stress and Behavioral Dysregulation

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​Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) professionals must recognize extreme heat as a potent environmental destabilizer, as empirical research consistently links prolonged high temperatures to spiked rates of irritability, diminished impulse control, cognitive impairment, and heightened interpersonal aggression. The urgent relevance of this association was underscored this past summer, when historic heatwaves shattered temperature records across the globe, putting acute physiological strain on vulnerable individuals through disrupted sleep architecture, systemic neurochemical stress, and compromised decision-making.

 

Within a BTAM framework—which evaluates how subjects, targets, environments, and precipitating events interact along the pathway to targeted violence—sustained extreme heat functions as a chronic situational amplifier. By eroding an individual’s internal protective factors and compounding preexisting grievances, substance use, or psychiatric distress, severe heat waves can transform simmering agitation into overt conflict. Factoring climatic and thermal stressors into baseline threat evaluations allows assessment teams to better anticipate acute escalation windows, coordinate timely behavioral health or de-escalation interventions, and manage risk dynamically as climate extremes become an enduring reality. 

 

July | The Anti-Fragile Threat Assessment Professional

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Anti-fragility means thriving under stress. ​Threat assessment professionals operate in high-stakes environments saturated with volatility, ambiguity, and frequent exposure to toxic and disturbing content. While conventional wellness and resilience focuses on merely "bouncing back" or resisting strain, an antifragile approach recognizes that complex, high-pressure systems can actually grow stronger, sharper, and more adaptive when exposed to stressors. This dynamic webinar explores how behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) professionals can move beyond passive endurance to build cognitive, procedural, and psychological systems that gain capacity from adversity rather than degrading under it.

 

Adopting an antifragile mindset is critical for practitioners facing chronic occupational stress and vicarious trauma. Attendees will examine how to transform ambiguous intelligence into proactive inquiry, convert investigative setbacks into structural safeguards, and neutralize the cumulative toll of toxic material through robust peer systems and reflective operational habits. By shifting from fragile coping mechanisms to intentional antifragility, threat assessors protect their own well-being and longevity while simultaneously elevating analytical rigor, sound judgment, and organizational safety.

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​June | How to Blow Up a Data Center​

 

With tech executives and researchers sharing their concerns of AI posing an existential threat to humanity, there is increased public fear and distain of all things AI.  Federal law enforcement agencies are increasingly tracking what they describe as "anti-tech violent extremism," with concerns over AI-driven job losses and the impact of large tech projects on communities and the environment. A New York Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureau report warned of widespread upheaval in response to AI adoption. Their report stated that, "The chaotic atmosphere that may result from emergent AI technology in the next five years may fuel large-scale protests that devolve into civil unrest and anti-tech violent extremist activity, especially in large urban areas such as New York City," 

 

Attacks at the homes of OpenAI's CEO and a Midwestern city councilor are important examples of how kinetic violence is becoming a foreseeable tactic for the organized resistance to AI and advanced technologies. Businesses and their executives are increasingly finding themselves caught in the crosshairs of anti-tech ideological violence. Staying on top of this evolving threat will be critical of anyone involved in violence prevention. 

 

August | Mass Shooter Copycat and Contagion in the Evolving Media Environment

 

This timely program examines the critical dynamics of mass shooting contagion theory and how modern information ecosystems amplify the risk of mimicked targeted violence. Participants will explore the research surrounding media-induced copycat behavior, analyzing how sensationalized coverage, fame-seeking motives, and explicit references to past attackers drive prospective perpetrators. By dissecting the psychological and behavioral patterns of modeled violence, the session provides a foundational understanding of how high-profile attacks inadvertently serve as blueprints for vulnerable individuals.

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Building on these behavioral insights, the discussion shifts to the challenges posed by an evolving digital landscape, from decentralized social media platforms to algorithmically accelerated content and generative AI deepfakes. Emergency managers, law enforcement personnel, and everyone concerned with violence prevention will gain actionable strategies for anticipating, identifying, and mitigating contagion risks in real time. Attendees will leave equipped with proactive frameworks to evaluate emerging online threats, navigate modern media amplification, and enhance preventative intervention protocols within their organizations. ​​​​​

 

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Terminating an employee is one of the most volatile flashpoints in workplace risk management. When separation is involuntary, the intersection of personal crisis, perceived injustice, and potential history of instability creates a high-stakes environment for behavioral threat assessment and management professionals. Knowing that a co-worker has separated after making threats or acting aggressively can rattle the workplace. ​Fears about retaliation or revenge can quickly become rumors that impact productivity and morale. Fears about a co-worker assessed as a lower level of violence risk and remaining in the workplace can have the same effect.

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This presentation provides a deep dive into the pre-attack indicators and environmental triggers specifically associated with workplace terminations. Moving beyond basic HR protocols to explore the behavioral nuances of "the grievance cycle" and how BTAM teams can lead a multidisciplinary approach to mitigate risk before, during, and after the "final walk-out." Effective threat management strategies often incorporate elements of fear management. Recognizing and addressing the emotional and psychological aspects of a hostile situation can be vital in preventing escalation and fostering a safer environment. This program is intened for threat assessors, security professionals, HR, legal and everyone involved in the separation process. 

 

October | Trauma-Informed Threat Assessment & Management

 

This interactive webinar explores the vital intersection of trauma-informed care and behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM). Traditional threat assessment models often focus narrowly on identifying concerning behaviors and mitigating immediate risk, which can inadvertently lead to punitive responses or overlook the root drivers of distress. By integrating trauma-informed principles—safety, transparency, peer support, collaboration, and cultural humility—multidisciplinary teams can better interpret warning signs through a developmental and psychological lens. Attendees will examine how adverse childhood experiences, systemic stressors, and acute crises influence behavioral pathways to violence, transforming threat management from a purely reactive measure into a holistic prevention strategy.

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Designed for threat assessment and violence prevention professionals, this session provides practical frameworks for building compassionate yet rigorous intervention protocols. Participants will learn how to conduct threat screenings without re-traumatizing individuals, distinguish between disruptive behaviors and targeted violence pathways, and develop individualized risk-mitigation plans grounded in support and stabilization. By the conclusion of the webinar, attendees will possess actionable tools to de-escalate crisis situations, strengthen multidisciplinary collaboration, and maintain institutional safety while upholding the dignity and well-being of those in need.

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November | Psychiatric Literacy for Threat Assessment Professionals​

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Psychiatric Literacy for Threat Assessment Professionals is an advanced, operationally focused course designed to bridge the critical gap between clinical diagnostic systems and real-world behavioral threat management. Threat assessment professionals frequently encounter individuals exhibiting complex psychological symptoms, yet non-clinical team members often lack the specialized framework needed to interpret these behaviors, while clinical partners may struggle to translate clinical formulations into actionable threat management strategies. This program equips multidisciplinary team members—including corporate security, legal counsel, human resources, law enforcement, and mental health liaisons—with the foundational knowledge required to demystify psychiatric terminology, recognize key behavioral indicators, and avoid both the stigmatization of mental illness and the dangerous assumption that psychiatric symptoms are synonymous with targeted violence.

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Participants will delve into the critical distinction between affective and predatory violence, examining how severe mental illnesses—such as psychotic spectrum disorders, major mood disorders with psychotic features, and severe personality pathologies—actually intersect with the pathway to violence. Special emphasis is placed on the behavioral risks associated with non-adherence, abrupt discontinuation, and adverse side effects, as well as the differentiating factors between benign oddity, persecutory delusions, and active threat escalation. Through detailed case analyses, attendees will learn how to ask targeted, diagnostically informed collateral questions, effectively interface with treating providers within legal and privacy boundaries, and craft nuanced risk mitigation plans that address destabilizing clinical factors while maintaining an uncompromising focus on safety and containment.

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​December | Studies Paranoia: Three Landmark Cases Explored​​

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Studies in Paranoia: Three Landmark Cases is an advanced, case-driven masterclass examining how persecutory beliefs, hypervigilance, and paranoid ideation drive mobilization toward targeted violence. Paranoia presents a formidable operational challenge for behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) teams: it can mimic legitimate whistleblowing, generate sprawling conspiratorial networks, and convert benign organizational actions into perceived existential attacks. This intensive course moves beyond basic diagnostic labels to explore the functional architecture of paranoid cognition, analyzing how fixed false beliefs interact with narcissistic vulnerability, acute grievance formation, and threat-override/threat-control mechanisms. Designed for seasoned investigators, security directors, legal counsel, and behavioral health consultants, this program provides the forensic and behavioral tools necessary to assess whether an individual's persecutory worldview remains static or is transitioning into violent action.

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Through a forensic, multi-layered deconstruction of three landmark cases spanning workplace violence, campus attacks, and public figure stalking, participants will trace the critical trajectory from perceived persecution to predatory mobilization. Attendees will dissect how each subject gathered information, identified "conspirators," weaponized administrative or legal processes, and crossed the threshold into targeted violence when their defensive delusions collapsed. The seminar emphasizes practical containment and risk mitigation strategies, including communication techniques that avoid challenging or validating delusional systems, safe collateral interviewing protocols, the behavioral risks of abrupt organizational termination or court interventions, and methods for de-escalating fixated individuals who view the threat management team itself as part of the hostile conspiracy.

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