Brockville Risk Checklist 4 (BRC4): Scoring Manual

About the Book

The Brockville Risk Checklist 4 is a unique, easy-to-use tool that can be adapted to any inpatient or outpatient mental health setting. This one-page instrument is the result of over a decade of use, development and empirical research. This clear and concise manual was informed by extensive research by the authors through coordination with clinical treatment teams who have been using the tool to manage and track risk in regular treatment meetings for clients in a forensic mental health setting. As the tool's name suggests, it originates from a forensic psychiatric facility in Brockville, Ontario, Canada. The Brockville Mental Health Centre, a campus of the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, is a secure facility treating individuals with severe mental illnesses who have been detained in the facility and in the process of gradual community reintegration. The facility employs clinicians who are renowned globally for their work with mentally disordered individuals in the forensic system, many of whom have contributed to or given feedback on the BRC4, including the authors. Included in this manual is an Internet link to a free PDF copy of the BRC4 tool, which may be printed for use. The authors of this tool hope this manual is both informative and useful in your research and/or clinical practice and helps contribute to safety and risk management in your treatment setting. All proceeds from this publication will be donated back to the Integrated Forensic Program of the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group.

About the Author

Lindsay Healey is a recent graduate of Queen's University and is currently a Research Assistant in the Integrated Forensic Program (IFP) at the Brockville Mental Health Centre (BMHC) site of the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group (ROHCG). She is extensively involved in researching and evaluating the Brockville Risk Checklist 4 (BRC4) and is currently coordinating a multi-site empirical study on the tool. Outside of this research focus, she collects data for several other studies while coordinating a large-scale empirical evaluation of clients attending an outpatient anger clinic at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre (ROMHC). Dr. A.G. Ahmed is a Psychiatrist and Associate Chief of the IFP of the ROHCG. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa and is cross-appointed to the School of Criminology, University of Ottawa and the Department of Psychiatry at Queen’s University. Dr. Ahmed’s research interests and clinical practice include the assessment and treatment of patients with major mental disorder, personality disorders, psychopathy, dysfunctional anger and aggression. He is one of the original creators and ongoing developers of the BRC tool and is currently involved in its empirical evaluation and development of alternative versions. Ken Laprade works as the Advanced Practice Clinician in the IFP of the ROHCG, at BMHC. He has an M.A. in psychology and over 40 years of experience working as a helping professional. He has managed teams working in the areas of developmental disabilities, industrial/organizational psychology and community mental health. He has worked in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and in the Yukon Territory. He has published on developmental disabilities, family therapy, risk assessment, ADHD and children’s behavior problems. Ken worked with Dr. Ahmed on the original version of the BRC tool and plays an important role in its ongoing development. Dr. Michael Seto is a Clinical Psychologist and the Director of the University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research’s Forensic Research Unit, as well as the Director of Forensic Rehabilitation Research in the IFP of the ROHCG. He is also cross–appointed to four universities in Ontario —University of Toronto, Ryerson University, Carleton University and University of Ottawa. Dr. Seto's research focus includes pedophilia, online offending, sexual offending, risk assessment and mentally disordered offenders. Dr. Seto was an integral part of developing the BRC4 and is currently involved in its empirical evaluation through several research endeavors.