Teaching
Threat assessment and management is a branch of forensic psychiatry that Dr. Rahman teaches to professionals in mental health and law enforcement. Threat assessment involves the use structured professional instruments and concise definitions. Dr. Rahman teaches psychiatry and forensic psychiatry to students and residents at Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine. He has given lectures at threat assessment conferences, the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, medical schools, colleges and to the elite FBI behavioral analysis unit, Quantico.
Behavioral Signatures and Threat Assessment
Many people are familiar with how serial killers and serial rapists have an MO (modus operandi). Many dramas depict these "behavioral signatures" such as the age and appearance of female victims (blonde, brunette, young age, or certain look). The killer has fantasies before acting on them. He might bind a victim with the same type of knot and then discard or display a victim's body. He might keep a souvenir like a piece of her jewelry. This is an exhilarating experience for him which he fantasizes about later. Law enforcement often uses these behaviors to build profiles as an aid in capturing perpetrators.
Similar profiles and behavioral signatures can be used to thwart a terrorist or mass shooter. For example, a shooter might post something online or say something to a friend which is concerning. They like to write manifestos. They relish fantasies of fame, notoriety or martyrdom. They have trouble making intimate, bonded relationships. These behavior patterns are still being studied and undergoing scrutiny. Dr. Rahman and his colleagues are working hard to help develop tools and definitions to help stop future attacks. Society can become familiar with these behaviors to become "eyes and ears" which help keep everyone safe. You may have heard the saying "if you see something, say something." What are these signs? How can we intervene? What can mental health providers and schools do? We have some answers. The best data comes from the Terrorist Radicalization Assessment Protocol (TRAP-18) developed by my colleague and noted terrorism scholar, Dr. Reid Meloy.
Guns in America
Every time there is a mass shooting, gun control is brought up, such as banning "assault style" rifles. While some weapons certainly increase the lethality of a shooting, so can other methods such as bombs, driving into crowds, stabbing, etc. The U.K. is currently experiencing an epidemic of knife attacks. Guns are also a big factor in many suicides.
Most of the killing in a mass shooting occurs in the first 30 seconds-- no one can stop that.
One proposal Dr. Rahman has is to require gun licenses by placing guns and ammo into categories (such as A, B, and C). Category A guns are smaller rounds and less lethal than C guns (high lethality weapons). Anyone can apply for the licenses, but C categories might require a good credit report, work history, background check which includes talking to family, neighbors, etc. After all, if a bank won't give someone a loan due to a high risk of default, why should we grant them a license to carry a powerful rifle?
Teaching Awards:
- Excellence in Research Mentoring Award, presented by The University of Missouri Medical Student Affairs Council for Excellence in Medical Education, May 14, 2015
- Outstanding Clinical Faculty Educator Award, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Office of Medical Education, April 9, 2015
- University of Missouri Psychiatry Faculty Outstanding Medical Student Teaching Award, June 20, 2014
Foundation: Professor Carl Wernicke (1848-1905)
see vintage German article: Deutsche Medicinische Wochenschrift 23. Juni 1892. English translation and discussion here by: Rahman, Bauer and Meloy.
Portrait below of neuroscientist Carl Wernicke who is honored by his work on sensory aphasia (Wernicke's area of the brain) as well as Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (alcoholic encephalopathy). His work on overvalued ideas is less known-- until now.
