CALIFORNIA SCHOOL OF FORENSIC STUDIES
Alliant International University, San Diego, California
MEET MY TEAM
Diana M. Concannon, PsyD, is Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships at Alliant International University, Associate Professor at the California School of Forensic Psychology, and Director of the APA-Accredited California Psychology Internship Consortium. To each of these positions, she brings more than 25 years of executive leadership experience to support the development and delivery of quality, practical, and accessible education in various mental health disciplines.
She complements this work with a forensic assessment practice, and a threat assessment and management consultancy.
She is a forensic psychologist, licensed to practice in California, New York, Utah, and Washington D.C., a Professional Certified Investigator by the American Society for Industrial Security, a Rape Escape Instructor, and a Loyola Law School-trained Mediator.
She is the author of Kidnapping: An Investigator’s Guide, and the forthcoming Neurocriminology: Forensic and Legal Applications, Public Policy Implications.
PROJECT TEAM
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Doctoral Residency (Spring & Fall 2024)
The doctoral residency experience was a required, two-part intensive training completed in Spring and Fall 2024. It was a structured, cohort-based academic immersion designed to prepare doctoral candidates for independent research, quantitative & qualitative analysis, dissertation writing, and formal defense.
Purpose of Residency
The goal of the residency was to prepare doctoral candidates for the full scope of dissertation research by focusing on:
- Research design and quantitative methodology
- Human subjects research certification and ethical compliance
- IRB preparation and approval processes
- Statistical planning and power analysis
- Data collection and measurement construction
- Academic writing and scholarly publishing standards
- Mock proposal presentations
- Mock dissertation defenses
The residency functioned as both a technical training ground and a professional rehearsal space. Candidates presented proposals, defended research frameworks, and received structured critique from faculty and peers.
Mentorship & Faculty Support
- Project Chair: Dr. Glenn Lipson
- Ongoing Mentor & Subject Matter Consultant: Dr. Jade Brown
Dr. Brown remained in consistent communication throughout the research and writing process, offering mentorship, subject matter expertise, and guidance on forensic victimology and provider dynamics. This collaborative mentorship strengthened both the theoretical depth and applied implications of the project.
Residency ensured readiness not only to conduct research, but to defend it, publish it, and translate it into systems-level change.
Dissertation Project
Transformation Through Education: The Impact of Trauma-Informed Care Training on Victim Services Providers
Alliant International University, 2025
Project Overview
This dissertation examined whether trauma-informed education improves victim service providers’ perceptions and responses to victims who display manipulative or challenging behaviors following trauma.
While extensive literature focuses on victims, far less research examines the internal experiences, stressors, and perceptions of the providers who serve them. This study addressed that gap.
The central question was:
Does trauma-informed education shift provider perceptions and improve professional responses when victims exhibit manipulative behaviors?
Why This Research Matters
Victim service providers (VSPs) are often the first line of support for individuals affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, and other crimes.
When victims display:
- Emotional dysregulation
- Hostility or distrust
- Boundary-testing behaviors
- Apparent manipulation
Providers may experience:
- Compassion fatigue
- Secondary traumatic stress
- Burnout
- Reduced empathy
- Withdrawal of services
If provider perceptions shift negatively, victims may receive diminished care at the moment they need support most.
This research examined whether education can interrupt that cycle.
Who This Research Serves
This project benefits:
Victims & Survivors
- Improves provider understanding of trauma-based behaviors
- Reduces risk of mislabeling trauma responses as malicious intent
- Encourages compassionate, trauma-informed responses
- Supports long-term recovery and system engagement
Victim Service Providers
- Reduces burnout and compassion fatigue
- Improves confidence in handling complex behaviors
- Provides frameworks for understanding reenactment and trauma responses
- Enhances professional resilience
Violence Prevention Professionals
- Strengthens intervention models
- Improves service delivery systems
- Supports prevention of re-victimization
Educators & Training Programs
- Offers a replicable training model
- Provides data to inform curriculum development
- Strengthens trauma-informed certification pathways
Policy & Community Systems
- Supports evidence-based training mandates
- Encourages investment in provider education
- Contributes to institutional quality improvement
Theoretical Frameworks
This dissertation integrates several psychological and forensic frameworks:
The Trauma Model (Ross)
Explores how trauma produces emotional dysregulation, dissociation, reenactment behaviors, and survival-based adaptations.
Karpman’s Drama Triangle
Examines shifting roles of Victim, Rescuer, and Persecutor in emotionally charged service environments.
The Dark Triad
Investigates narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy as personality traits that may appear in service settings and complicate provider-client dynamics.
Victim-Offender Overlap
Acknowledges that individuals may simultaneously occupy roles of victim and perpetrator.
Restorative Justice
Explores healing-centered approaches and power redistribution within justice systems.
Research Questions
- Do victim service providers hold negative perceptions of victims who exhibit manipulative behaviors prior to trauma-informed education?
- Does trauma-informed education improve provider perceptions and professional responses?
Methods
Design
Pre-training and post-training assessment using questionnaires.
Participants
Victim Service Providers across the United States of America
Minimum two years of experience
18 years or older
English proficiency
Sample Size
Power analysis indicated 51 participants required for adequate statistical power.
Procedure
- Pre-training questionnaire
- Self-paced trauma-informed education module
- Post-training questionnaire
Measures
Five-item Likert scale assessing:
- Comfort with manipulative behavior
- Professional response capacity
- Impact on opinion of victims
- Need for collegial processing
- Ability to assist effectively
Analysis
Narrative study design and thematic coding
Pre- and post-training comparison
Identification of emerging themes
Key Findings
The study supported the hypotheses that:
- Providers initially may hold negative perceptions toward victims exhibiting manipulative behaviors.
- Trauma-informed education improved perceptions and anticipated professional responses.
Key outcomes included:
- Increased comfort in managing complex behaviors
- Greater empathy toward trauma-driven reactions
- Reduced personalization of client hostility
- Improved professional boundary clarity
- Recognition of reenactment patterns
Education significantly shifted providers from reactive interpretation to trauma-informed interpretation.
Discussion
The findings suggest that provider perception is not fixed. It is educable.
When providers understand:
- Trauma reenactment
- Emotional dysregulation
- Survival-based manipulation
- Victim-offender overlap
- Power dynamics in service settings
They are more likely to respond with structured professionalism rather than emotional reactivity.
This reduces secondary trauma and strengthens service delivery quality.
Limitations
- Victim Services Provider access due to confidentiality issues
- Self-report measures
- Short-term perception measurement
- Limited diversity of organizational settings
- No long-term follow-up on behavioral change
Future research should examine longitudinal impact and broader geographic replication.
Community & Systems Impact
This research provides a framework for:
- Standardized trauma-informed training in shelters
- Burnout prevention strategies
- Provider wellness protocols
- Integration of Lean Six Sigma process improvement into victim services
- Quality improvement cycles in behavioral health systems
It bridges forensic psychology, public policy, and frontline advocacy practice.
Future Directions
Future research and program development may include:
- Expansion to law enforcement and district attorney victim units
- Longitudinal studies on provider retention and burnout
- Integration into university victim advocacy programs
- Certification development for trauma-informed victim services
- Cross-disciplinary implementation in healthcare and correctional settings
- Evaluation of impact on victim recidivism and service engagement
This work lays the foundation for institutional-level reform in how trauma-informed education is delivered to frontline providers.
A Call to Transform Through Education
This dissertation is not solely an academic contribution.
It is a systems-level intervention model.
By transforming how providers understand behavior, we transform service environments.
By transforming service environments, we improve victim outcomes.
By improving victim outcomes, we strengthen communities.
Education is not peripheral to care.
It is central to justice.
MENTOR’S CORNER
Meet Dr. Jade Brown
Dr. Jade Brown
Clinical Mentor | Forensic Psychologist | Victimologist
Dr. Jade Brown is a subject matter expert in Forensic Victimology and Forensic Linguistics, with a distinguished career in higher education spanning nearly two decades. Since 2006, she has instructed more than 65 undergraduate and graduate-level courses in criminal justice and related disciplines. She has served as adjunct faculty within the School of Security and Global Studies at American Military University, contributing to the academic preparation of future practitioners in public safety and investigative sciences.
Dr. Brown holds an Associate of Science in General Science, a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, a Master of Science in Forensic Science Investigations, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Safety and Criminal Justice. In addition to her academic contributions, she serves her community as an on-call victim assistant for her local police department, providing direct support within applied victim service systems.
During Dr. Chapman-Gray’s doctoral residency and dissertation process, Dr. Brown served as a clinical mentor and subject matter consultant. She provided advanced doctrinal guidance in victim services systems, Dark Triad behavioral constructs, forensic victimology, and victim precipitation theory. Her mentorship was instrumental in refining analytic rigor, strengthening theoretical integration, and preparing Dr. Chapman-Gray for doctoral work in Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. Throughout the dissertation process, Dr. Brown offered sustained consultation and intellectual oversight, contributing to the structural and doctrinal development of the project.
ON BECOMING A DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY, PUBLIC POLICY, & LAW
“Completing my Doctorate in Psychology, Public Policy, and Law wasn’t just an academic milestone—it was a journey of resilience and support. The project’s complexity would have been even greater without my mentor, Dr. Jade Brown, by my side. Her expertise in forensic victimology and behavioral analysis was invaluable. If I had a question—whether about dark triad traits or victim precipitation—she was there, taking the time to clarify every nuance. With her guidance, I was able to push through each hurdle. Now, I channel that perseverance into action—drafting legislative measures, expanding my advocacy, and envisioning a future where my work empowers protective laws. While the road was tough, I’m proud of the path it’s opened.”
