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Psychology vocabulary · Assessment and Diagnosis

Risk assessment

Meaning in psychology, with examples

nounCommon term

In psychology, risk assessment means: A structured evaluation of how likely it is that a person may harm themselves or others, or be harmed, and of the factors that raise or lower that risk.

In Turkish: risk değerlendirmesi

How it is used

Routine in mental health services, especially at first assessment and when circumstances change. Notes record risk to self, risk to others and risk from others, together with protective factors and a safety plan.

Example sentences

  1. A risk assessment is completed at every first appointment.

  2. The risk assessment noted strong protective factors, including close family support.

Common collocations

  • carry out a risk assessment
  • risk to self
  • protective factors
  • safety plan
  • update the risk assessment
  • assessmentThe process of gathering information about a person through interviews, observation and tests in order to understand their difficulties and plan help.
  • self-harmDeliberately hurting or injuring oneself, for example by cutting or burning, often as a way of coping with overwhelming emotional pain.
  • confidentialityThe professional duty to keep what a client or research participant shares private, except in clearly defined situations such as a serious risk of harm.
  • case formulationA shared, working explanation of how a client's problems developed and what keeps them going, built from the assessment and used to plan therapy.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Assessment and Diagnosis

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.