FAQ

FirePsych evaluations are comprehensive clinical behavior risk assessments that identifiy risk factors, motivations, and co-morbid issues associated with an individuals firesetting behavior, and provide tailored treatment and intervention recommendations designed ot reduce risk for future firesetting. 

FirePsych provides evaluations for children, adolescents, and adults, including specialized protocols for adolescent females, individuals with serious mental illness, cognitive limitations, and substance abuse histories.

Clinicians are guided by the Firesetting Risk Assessment Tool-Youth (FRAT-Y), published in 2010, the only strucutred decision making tool for youth firesetting, which targets  17 specific research-based risk factors to guide risk mitigation  intervention planning.

Adult evaluations are informed by the Multi-Trajectory Theory of Adult Firesetting (Gannon, Ciardha, Doley, and Aleyne, 2011), which identifies four prominent risk factors and sixteen clinical risk factors relevant to deliberate firesetting.

Since nearly 25% of adolescent firesetters are now female, and most existing research and protocols were developed based on male populations, FirePsych created a trauma- and relationship-sensitive protocol specifically designed to address the unique risk factors and needs of young girls.

Extremely - over the past 25 years, FirePsych clinicians have completed more than 1,500 firesetting evaluations for youth and adults.

Evaluations are completed in person throughout MA, CT, and New England.  In selected circumstances evaluations can be completed via remote technology. 

Referrals are accepted from individuals, family members, attorneys, along with any number of government or private youth- and adult-serving agencies.