ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a practical guide for community mental health workers. It deals with some background information about risk and mental illness, and the increasing attention given to risk assessment and management. The chapter discusses the definition of risk in relation to the present context of providing mental health care to individuals in the least restrictive environment. It provides a discussion of the problems and tensions evident within clinical risk management. Many mentally ill people are parents and, as such, may present certain risks to children as a consequence of potentially impaired parenting abilities. A number of specialised tools have been developed to complement the assessment process in assisting the clinician to systematically evaluate and determine the seriousness of the risk posed by an individual. The risk profile is commonly completed following the initial assessment of a new patient or client by the Community Mental Health Team.
