Dr. Alasdair M. Goodwill C.Psych.

Biography

Dr. Alasdair M. Goodwill is a dually registered Clinical and Forensic Psychologist with the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario with over 20 years combined experience in behavioural investigative analysis, threat assessment, forensic risk assessment, and clinical therapeutic services. He is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Director of the Criminal and Forensic Psychology Lab (CiR&A) at Toronto Metropolitan University. Dr. Goodwill undertook his clinical internship at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health's (CAMH, Toronto, Canada) Sexual Behaviours Clinic (SBC) where he was responsible for forensic assessments, clinical diagnostic interviews and treatment services for individuals with sexual behavioural problems. 

Dr. Goodwill has served as the Vice-President of the Canadian Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (CATAP; 2018-2016) has served on the CATAP Board of Directors from 2015 to 2018 and continues to be an active member of the Association. He is a member of the Ontario Psychological Association, Canadian Psychological Association (2016-2019) and held multiple UK professional registrations, including Chartered Forensic Psychologist (Health Care Professions Council, UK, 2010-2019), Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol; British Psychological Society, Division of Forensic Psychology; 2006-2017), Chartered Scientist (CSci; BPS Science Council; 2006-2016), and Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society (RSS; 2006-2011).

Dr. Goodwill completed his M.Sc. in Investigative Psychology at the University of Liverpool (UK) with Distinction and his Ph.D. in Forensic Psychology at the University of Birmingham where he conducted doctoral research on "Pragmatic approaches to suspect prioritisation in criminal investigations." He was awarded the Overseas Research Students Award Scheme (ORSAS) scholarship and the School of Psychology Full Academic Scholarship for his doctoral work. Following his Ph.D., he served as an Assistant Professor (Lecturer) and Course Director of the Doctorate in Forensic Psychology Programme (ForenPsyD) at the University of Birmingham before returning to Canada in 2009.

Dr. Goodwill is an Affiliate of the Forensic Psychology Research Centre (Ottawa, Canada), Associate Member of the Carleton Police Research Laboratory (Ottawa, Canada), Associate Member of the Centre for Investigative and Forensic Psychology (Liverpool, UK), and Associate Member of the Centre for Critical Incident Research (Liverpool, UK). He has served on numerous academic journal editorial boards, including as Senior Editor of the Journal of Threat Assessment and Management (2017-2018) and Editor of the Journal of Criminal Psychology. He has published extensively in the criminological, investigative, forensic and threat assessment literature and has presented his research and case studies at numerous international academic and practitioner-focused conferences.

Dr. Goodwill consults regularly with law enforcement, security professionals, legal firms, and criminal investigators (private and police). He has provided expert court reports in civil litigation and has conducted threat assessments for corporate security teams and healthcare institutions. His consulting work spans behavioural investigative analysis of serious crime, threat assessment, and risk evaluation involving homicidal violent and sexual offending, workplace threat assessment, and security incident analysis. He has provided investigative recommendations for law enforcement agencies in both Canada and the United Kingdom, including reports for the National Crime and Operations Faculty (NCOF), the Home Office (UK), and various Canadian police services.

Dr. Goodwill maintains extensive specialized training and professional development. He is trained in multiple threat assessment tools and risk assessment instruments and contributes to ongoing research in collaboration with Dr. Reid Meloy on the TRAP-18 protocol for assessing lone actor terrorism risk. His methodological expertise includes advanced statistical techniques, meta-analytical methods, Bayesian network analysis, and structural equation modeling.

Dr. Goodwill maintains a private clinical practice (TheResolute.ca (external link, opens in new window) ) where he provides clinical assessment and therapeutic services utilizing an integrative approach that combines evidence-based cognitive-behavioural therapies with positive psychology, mindfulness, and purpose-based philosophical frameworks to support mental and physical wellness.

Research Interests

• Behavioural Investigative Analysis and Criminal Profiling
• Threat Assessment and Management
• Lone Actor Terrorism (TRAP-18 assessment and research)
• Crime Linkage Analysis
• Forensic Risk Assessment
• Sexual Offender Assessment and Treatment
• Criminal Behaviour and Decision-Making
• Geographic Profiling
• Forensic Clinical Psychology

Selected Recent Publications (2017-2021)

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Meloy, J. R., Goodwill, A.M., Clemmow, C., & Gill, P. (2021). Time sequencing the TRAP-18 indicators. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tam0000157 (external link) 

Goodwill, A. M., Meloy, J. R. (2019). Visualizing the relationship among indicators for lone actor terrorist attacks: multidimensional scaling and the TRAP-18. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 37, 522-539. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2434 (external link) 

Meloy, J. R., Goodwill, A. M., Meloy, M. J., Amat, G., Martinez, M., & Morgan, M. (2019). Some TRAP-18 indicators discriminate between terrorist attackers and other subjects of national security concern. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, 6(2), 93–110. https://doi.org/10.1037/tam0000119 (external link) 

Stephens, S., Seto, M. C., Goodwill, A. M., & Cantor, J. M. (2018). The relationships between victim age, gender, and relationship polymorphism and sexual recidivism. Sexual Abuse, 30(2), 132-146.

Stephens, S., Seto, M. C., Goodwill, A. M., & Cantor, J. M. (2018). Age diversity among victims of hebephilic sexual offenders. Sexual Abuse, 30(3), 322-339.

Krause, K. L., MacDonald, E. M., Goodwill, A. M., Vorstenbosch, V., & Antony, M. M. (2018). Assessing safety behaviors in fear of storms: Validation of the Storm-Related Safety Behavior Scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 40(1), 139-148.

Stephens, S., Cantor, J. M., Goodwill, A. M., & Seto, M. C. (2017). Multiple indicators of sexual interest in prepubescent or pubescent children as predictors of sexual recidivism. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 85(6), 585-595. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000194 (external link) 

Stephens, S., Reale, K., Goodwill, A.M., & Beauregard, E. (2017). Examining the role of opportunity in the offense behavior of victim age polymorphic sex offenders. Journal of Criminal Justice, 52, 41-48. doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2017.07.010

Gibbs, C. Guttentag, D., Gretzel, U., Morton, J., & Goodwill, A.M. (2017) Pricing in the sharing economy: a hedonic pricing model applied to Airbnb listings. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, DOI:10.1080/10548408.2017.1308292

Book Chapters

Brankley, A.E., Goodwill, A.M. & Abracen, J. (2016). A cognitive-behavioural case conceptualization approach to the assessment and treatment of necrophilia. In L. Mellor, A. Aggrawal, & E. Hickey (Eds.), Necrophilia: A global anthology. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Bennell, C., Goodwill, A.M., & Chinneck, A. (2014). Crime linkage methods and approaches. In J. Woodhams & C. Bennell (Eds.), Crime linkage: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 369-372). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Goodwill, A.M., van der Kemp, J., & Winter, J. (2014). Applied geographical profiling. In D. Weisburd & G. Bruinsma (Eds.), Encyclopaedia of criminology and criminal justice: Predictive models and geographic profiling (pp. 86-99). New York, NY: Springer-Verlag.

Alison, L.J., Goodwill, A.M., Almond, L., van den Heuvel, C., & Winter, J. (2010). Pragmatic solutions to offender profiling and behavioural investigative advice. In L.J. Alison & L. Rainbow (Eds.), Professionalizing offender profiling (pp. 51-71). New York, NY: Routledge.

Recent Invited Talks and Presentations (2017-2024)

Goodwill, A.M. & Martin, B. (2024, November 6). Criminal acts & Civil Suits. Presentation at the 2024 Canadian Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (CATAP) conference, Whistler, BC, Canada.

Goodwill, A.M. (2024, October 3). PTSD, depression and resilience – strengthening our team. Presentation for Cadillac Fairview Annual National Security Conference.

Goodwill, A.M. (2024, April 16). The new paradigm - business continuity, employee resilience and remote work. Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA).

Goodwill, A.M. (2023, September 21). Practical lessons from the TEC Urban Eatery shooting. Presentation for Cadillac Fairview Annual National Security Conference.

Goodwill, A.M. (2023, May 25). Developing a strategic emergency management plan for threat assessment. AIG Insurance adjusters threat assessment presentation.

Goodwill, A.M. (2019, July). TRAP-18 indicators discriminate between terrorist attackers and other subjects. Invited keynote at the 4th Asian Conference of Criminal and Operations Psychology (ACCOP): A Special Meeting of the Society for Police & Criminal Psychology, Singapore.

Goodwill, A.M. (2017, July). Behavioural crime scene analysis. Keynote Speaker for the 13th Summer Conference: Research in Forensic Psychiatry, Regensburg, Germany.

Teaching Areas

• Forensic Psychology & Criminal Behaviour
• Advanced Multivariate Statistics & Analysis
• Clinical Psychology and Personality Theory
• Threat Assessment and Management
• Criminal Profiling and Behavioural Investigative Analysis

Contact Information

Department of Psychology | Toronto Metropolitan University | 350 Victoria Street Toronto, Ontario, M5B 2K3, Canada

Email: agoodwill@torontomu.ca Tel: 1-416-979-5000 ext. 552150

Private Practice: TheResolute.ca (external link)