Mental Illness and Violence: Debunking Myths, Addressing Realities

A common misperception exists that a majority of individuals with serious mental illness are violent. A large body of research evidence highlights the complexity of the factors which may make individuals with serious mental illness prone to aggression or violence.

Part of the APA Monitor's CE Corner article series.

New format: After reading the CE Corner article, you will be asked to complete a "Commitment-to-Change" (CTC) exercise. The CTC exercise is designed to help facilitate the translation of your learning into practice. Completion of the CTC is required prior to the completion of the CE Test based on the APA Monitor CE Corner article.

This product is not included in the APA Unlimited CE program.

New York state psychologists: This program is not currently in compliance with the unique requirements imposed by the New York State Board of Education for New York licensed psychologists CE.

• List specific symptoms of serious mental illness that are associated with violent behavior while understanding that diagnosis alone cannot determine who may commit violence.
• Discuss the strong role that contextual factors such as poverty, neighborhood, and substance use play in violence perpetration by people with serious mental illness, as well as those without mental illness.
• Describe evidence that disconfirms the inaccurate bias that people with mental illness are largely responsible for mass shootings and other acts of mass violence.

Tori Deangelis