Working to Prevent Violent Extremism: Readiness of Behavioral Health Professionals in New York State

Abstract

Violent extremism has risen markedly in the United States in recent years, renewing concern about prevention but leaving behavioral health professionals (BHPs) with limited empirical guidance on their role. This study presents, to the authors’ knowledge, the first quantitative analysis of U.S. BHPs’ readiness to engage in preventing violent extremism (PVE) and behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM). Guided by prior focus groups in the same region, an online survey was administered to 149 clinicians in a large, diverse New York State county recently affected by extremist violence. Measures assessed perceived threat, ethics, professional role, preparedness, and willingness to collaborate with law enforcement, alongside demographic and practice characteristics. BHPs overwhelmingly endorsed having a significant role in PVE and an ethical obligation to work both with communities and individuals exiting violent extremism, and most supported collaboration with law enforcement while simultaneously expressing concern about structural problems in policing. However, substantial gaps in perceived preparedness emerged, with social workers, rural practitioners, less-experienced clinicians, women, and White BHPs reporting lower readiness than their counterparts. These findings highlight both a strong professional mandate for BHP involvement in PVE and critical inequities in training and confidence, suggesting targeted, discipline- and context-specific capacity-building as a priority for policy and practice.