Mass Shooters and Extremist Violence: Motives, Paths, and Prevention

Course #66431 -

Overview

Mass shootings at schools and other public settings are distressingly familiar, but their close relationship to extremist violence and domestic homicide is largely unknown. Mass shootings are part of a larger public health concern of gun violence that includes homicide, suicide, and gunshot injury. These violent acts are not impulsive, but are endpoints of a pathway beginning with grievance and alienation. Interaction with other factors influences movement on a pathway to mass violence (usually, but not always, involving guns) and whether the culmination is fueled by personal or ideologic motive; the marked similarities of perpetrators and pathways in both erase many previous distinctions. Clinicians are not immune to the false narratives surrounding mass shooting and extremist violence (a more accurate term than "terrorism") and benefit from understanding the evidence on mass and domestic violence, gun violence in general, their aggravating and mitigating factors, and preventive approaches. This course will make greater use of case histories, which are illustrative given the very small perpetrator population.

Education Category: Psychiatric / Mental Health
Release Date: 04/01/2022
Expiration Date: 03/31/2025

Table of Contents

Audience

This intermediate course is designed for psychologists who may intervene to identify persons at risk for committing acts of mass violence.

Accreditations & Approvals

Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs. NetCE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0240. This course is considered self-study by the New York State Board for Psychology.

Designations of Credit

NetCE designates this continuing education activity for 15 credit(s).

Course Objective

The purpose of this course is to provide psychologists with the knowledge and skills necessary to identify persons on paths to extreme violence and to intervene to prevent mass shooting events.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

  1. Outline the history of mass violence and media coverage of these events in the United States.
  2. Identify psychopathology that is uncommon in mass shooters.
  3. Describe psychopathology that is common in mass shooters and discuss how different pathologies act synergistically.
  4. Analyze cultural factors that influence perpetrators of mass violence.
  5. Distinguish targeted and affective violence and the role of pathways in identifying persons at risk for mass violence.
  6. Evaluate components of the Pathways to Violence Model.
  7. Describe the proximal warning behaviors outlined in the Warning Behaviors Model.
  8. Discuss the distal characteristics of targeted violence as defined in the Warning Behaviors Model.
  9. Define core concepts associated with perpetration of extremist violence, including radicalization and terrorism.
  10. Analyze current and historic extremist ideologies common in the United States.
  11. Outline the role of Islamist and far-rightist violence in the United States, including media and cultural narratives.
  12. Evaluate models used to describe the common pathways to extremist violence.
  13. Review general gun violence trends and data.
  14. Describe the barriers to and rationale for gun safety discussions with patients.
  15. Discuss considerations for avoiding stigmatizing patients with mental illness and appropriately meeting the needs of non-English-proficient patients in conversations regarding gun safety.

Faculty

Mark Rose, BS, MA, LP, is a licensed psychologist in the State of Minnesota with a private consulting practice and a medical research analyst with a biomedical communications firm. Earlier healthcare technology assessment work led to medical device and pharmaceutical sector experience in new product development involving cancer ablative devices and pain therapeutics. Along with substantial experience in addiction research, Mr. Rose has contributed to the authorship of numerous papers on CNS, oncology, and other medical disorders. He is the lead author of papers published in peer-reviewed addiction, psychiatry, and pain medicine journals and has written books on prescription opioids and alcoholism published by the Hazelden Foundation. He also serves as an Expert Advisor and Expert Witness to law firms that represent disability claimants or criminal defendants on cases related to chronic pain, psychiatric/substance use disorders, and acute pharmacologic/toxicologic effects. Mr. Rose is on the Board of Directors of the Minneapolis-based International Institute of Anti-Aging Medicine and is a member of several professional organizations.

Faculty Disclosure

Contributing faculty, Mark Rose, BS, MA, LP, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.

Division Planner

James Trent, PhD

Division Planner Disclosure

The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.

Director of Development and Academic Affairs

Sarah Campbell

Director Disclosure Statement

The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.

About the Sponsor

The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.

Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.

Disclosure Statement

It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.

Technical Requirements

Supported browsers for Windows include Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.0 and up, Mozilla Firefox 3.0 and up, Opera 9.0 and up, and Google Chrome. Supported browsers for Macintosh include Safari, Mozilla Firefox 3.0 and up, Opera 9.0 and up, and Google Chrome. Other operating systems and browsers that include complete implementations of ECMAScript edition 3 and CSS 2.0 may work, but are not supported. Supported browsers must utilize the TLS encryption protocol v1.1 or v1.2 in order to connect to pages that require a secured HTTPS connection. TLS v1.0 is not supported.

Implicit Bias in Health Care

The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.

Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.