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Dr. Alasdair M. Goodwill, C.Psych.

Associate Professor
DepartmentPsychology
EducationPhD C.Psych, University of Birmingham (UK)
OfficeJOR-925
Phone416-979-5000 ext. 552150
Areas of Expertiseforensic psychology; behavioural investigative advice; offender profiling; geographical profiling; risk assessment; and threat assessment

Biography

Dr. Alasdair M. Goodwill is a dually registered Clinical and Forensic Psychologist with the College of Psychologists of Ontario (CPO), with over 20 years combined experience in behavioural investigative analysis, threat assessment, forensic risk assessment, and therapeutic services. He is a full-time tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Ryerson University (Toronto, Canada). Alasdair undertook his clinical internship at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health’s (CAMH, Toronto, Canada) Sexual Behaviour Clinic (SBC) where he was responsible for forensic assessments, clinical diagnostic interviews and treatment services. He has served as the President of the Canadian Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (CATAP; 2017-2018), Vice-President (2016-2017) and on the Board of Directors from 2015 to 2018.

Alasdair is a member of the Ontario Psychological Association (OPA #20151241), the College of Psychologists of Ontario (CPO) and was a member of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA #45804) from 2016-2019. He has also been registered as a Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol; British Psychological Society, Division of Forensic Psychology, UK; 2006 to 2018) with a specialist Forensic (Practitioner) Psychologist designation (Health Professions Council, UK; 2008-2018), Chartered Scientist (CSci; BPS Science Council, UK; 2006-2012), Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (AFBPsS), Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), and a Fellow of the International Association of Investigative Psychology (F-IAIP), while he resided in the United Kingdom (approx. 1997-2009).

Dr. Goodwill completed his M.Sc. at the University of Liverpool (UK) from 1997-1998 and Ph.D. at the University of Birmingham (UK) from 2001 to 2005, where he conducted his doctoral research on “Pragmatic approaches to suspect prioritisation in criminal investigations” (i.e., behavioural investigative analysis, offender profiling, crime linkage, geographical profiling, etc.). On completion of his Ph.D. he was employed as a Lecturer (i.e., Assistant Professor rank in Canada) at the University of Birmingham from 2005-2009, eventually serving as the Course Director of the Doctorate in Forensic Psychology program from 2007-2009, before returning to Toronto to take up a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the Department of Psychology at Ryerson University in 2009. I received tenure and was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor at Ryerson in 2012.

Alasdair is an Affiliate of the Forensic Psychology Research Centre (Ottawa, Canada), Associate Member of the Carleton Police Research Laboratory (Ottawa, Canada), an Associate Member of the Centre for Investigative and Forensic Psychology (Liverpool, UK), an Associate Member of the Centre for Critical Incident Research (Liverpool, UK), and have served as an adjunct graduate supervisor at Charité Universitätsmedizin (Berlin, Germany) and the University of Huddersfield (UK). He has also served on numerous academic journal editorial boards and published extensively in the criminological, investigative, forensic and threat assessment literature. I have also presented my research and case studies at numerous international academic and practitioner-focused conferences and invited talks.

Dr. Goodwill consults regularly with law enforcement, prison and criminal investigators (private and police) and has advised on several investigations relating to serial and individual homicide, sexual offending, violent offending, threat assessment, and risk assessment (please see c.v. for further details). Further, I have been trained on a number of threat assessment tools (e.g., HCR-20, TRAP-18 lone actor terrorism tool), risk assessment tools (e.g., STATIC-99, STABLE-2007, PCL-R) and several other investigative techniques (e.g., social media analysis, forensic linguistics, hostage negotiation).

Alasdair has a clinical practice where he provides clinical assessment and therapeutic services.


Selected Publications & Presentations

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS 

Goodwill, A. M.
, Meloy, J. R. (in press). Visualizing the relationship among indicators for lone actor terrorist attacks: multidimensional scaling and the TRAP-18. Behavioral Sciences and the Law.

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.

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 Abuse30(2), 132-146.

Stephens, S., Seto, M. C., Goodwill, A. M., & Cantor, J. M. (2018). Age diversity among victims of hebephilic sexual offenders. Sexual Abuse30(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 Assessment40(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. doi:10.1037/ccp0000194

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 Justice52, 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

Stephens, S., Seto, M. C., Goodwill, A. M., & Cantor, J. M. (2017). Evidence of construct validity in the assessment of hebephilia. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 47, 301-309. doi:10.1007/s10508-016-0907-z

Goodwill, A. M
., Lehmann, R. J. B., Beauregard, E. & Andrei, A. (2016). An action phase approach to offender profiling. Legal and Criminological Psychology21, 229-250. doi: 10.1111/lcrp.12069

Abracen, J., Gallo, A., Looman, J., & Goodwill, A.M. (2016). Individual community-based treatment of offenders with mental illness: Relationship to recidivism. Journal of Interpersonal Violence31, 1842-58. doi:10.1177/0886260515570745

Lehmann, R.J.B, Goodwill, A.M., Hanson, K. & Dahle, K-P. (2016). Acquaintance rape: Applying crime scene analysis to the prediction of sexual recidivism. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 28, 679-702. doi: 10.1177/1079063215569542

Stephens, S., Seto, M., Goodwill, A.M. & Cantor, J. (2016). The relationships between victim age, gender, and relationship polymorphism and sexual recidivism. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. doi: 10.1177/1079063216630983

Stephens, S., Seto, M.C., Goodwill, A.M. & Cantor, J. (2016). Age diversity among victims of hebephilic sexual offenders. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. doi: 10.1177/1079063216665837

Oziel, S., Goodwill, A.M., & Beauregard, E. (2015). Variability in behavioural consistency across temporal phases in stranger sexual offences. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology30, 176-190. doi: 10.1007/s11896-014-9150-5

Kuo, J., Khuory, J., Metcalfe, R., Fitzpatrick, S. & Goodwill, A.M. (2015). An Examination of the relationship between childhood emotional abuse and borderline personality disorder features: The role of difficulties with emotion regulation. Child Abuse & Neglect, 39, 147-155. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.08.008

Brown, C., Gorgolewski, M., & Goodwill, A.M. (2015). Using physical, behavioral, and demographic variables to explain suite-level energy use in multiresidential buildings. Building and Environment89, 308–317. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2015.02.039

Khoury, J. E., Gonzalez, A., Levitan, R. D., Pruessner, J. C., Chopra, K., Basile, V. S., Marsellis, M., Goodwill, A.M. & Atkinson, L. (2015). Summary cortisol reactivity indicators: Interrelations and meaning. Neurobiology of Stress2, 34–43. doi:10.1016/j.ynstr.2015.04.002

Beiser, M., Goodwill, A.M., Albanese, P., McShane, K., & Kanthasamy, P., (2015). Predictors of the integration of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Canada: Pre-migration adversity, mental health, personal attributes, and post-migration experience. International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care11, 29-44. doi: 10.1108/IJMHSC-02-2014-0008

MacDonald, E. M., Pawluk, E. J., Koerner, N., & Goodwill, A.M. (2015). An examination of distress intolerance in undergraduate students high in symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy44, 74-84. doi:10.1080/16506073.2014.964303

Goodwill, A.M. (2014), Where to next? Importance of directional considerations in offender geo-spatial sequential decision making. Legal and Criminological Psychology19, 218–220. doi:10.1111/lcrp.12060

Dawson, P., Goodwill, A.M., & Dixon, L. (2014). Preliminary insights and analysis into weapon enabled sexual offenders. Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research6, 174–184. doi:10.1108/JACPR-10-2013-0029

Goodwill, A. M., Allen, J. C., & Kolarevic, D. (2014). Improvement of thematic classification in offender profiling: Classifying Serbian homicides using multiple correspondence, cluster, and discriminant function analyses. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling11, 221–236. doi:10.1002/jip.1416

Lehmann, R. J. B., Goodwill, A. M., Hanson, R. K., & Dahle, K.-P. (2014). Crime scene behaviors indicate risk-relevant propensities of child molesters. Criminal Justice and Behavior41, 1008-1028. doi:10.1177/0093854814521807

Brankley, A.E., Goodwill, A.M., & Reale, K.S. (2014). Escalation from fetish burglaries to sexual violence: A retrospective case study of former Col., D. Russell Williams. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 11, 115-135. doi:10.1002/jip.1406 

Brankley, A. E. & Goodwill, A.M. (2014). Optimizing case conceptualization of sex offender needs: The utility of behavioural crime scene analysis. Psynopsis, 36, 15-16.

Allen, J.C., Goodwill, A.M., Watters, K., & Beauregard, E. (2014). Base rates and Bayes’ Theorem for decision support. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management37, 159-169. doi: 10.1108/PIJPSM-03-2013-0025

Beiser, M., Goodwill, A.M., Albanese, P., McShane, K. & Nowakowski, M. (2014). Predictors of immigrant children’s mental health in Canada: selection, settlement contingencies, culture, or all of the above? Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 49, 743-756. doi:10.1007/s00127-013-0794-8

Goodwill, A.M., Stephens, S., Oziel, S., Sharma, S., Allen, J., Bowes, N. & Lehmann, R. (2013). Advancement of  criminal profiling methods in faceted multidimensional analysis. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 10, 71-95. doi: 10.1002/jip.1388

Dawson, P. & Goodwill, A.M. (2013). A review of weapon choice in violent and sexual crime. Beijing Law Review, 4, 20-27. doi:10.4236/blr.2013.41003

Lehmann, R.J.B, Goodwill, A.M., Gallasch-Nemitz, F., Biedermann, J. & Dahle, K-P. (2013). Applying crime scene analysis to the prediction of sexual recidivism in stranger rapes. Law & Human Behavior, 37, 241-254. doi:10.1037/lhb0000015

Goodwill, A.M., Stephens, S., Oziel, S., Yapp, J. & Bowes, N. (2012). Multidimensional latent classification of ‘street robbery’ offences, Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 9, 93-109. doi: 10.1002/jip.1351

Beech, A.R., Mandeville-Norden, R. & Goodwill, A.M. (2012). Comparing reconviction rates of treatment responders/non-Responders in a sample of child molesters who had undertaken community-based sex offender treatment in the UK. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 56, 29-49. doi: 10.1177/0306624X10387811

Goodwill, A.M., Alison, L.J. & Humann, M., Francis, A. & Villejoubert, G. (2010). The impact of outcome knowledge, role and quality of information on the perceived legitimacy of lethal force decisions in counter terrorism operations. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 28, 337-350. doi: 10.1002/bsl.897

Alison, L.J., Goodwill, A.M., Almond, L., van den Heuvel, C. & Winter, J. (2010). Pragmatic solutions to offender profiling and behavioural investigative advice. Legal & Criminological Psychology, 15, 115-132. doi: 10.1348/135532509X463347

Harkins, L., Beech, A.R., & Goodwill, A.M. (2010). Examining the influence of denial, motivation, and risk on sexual recidivism. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 22, 78-94. doi: 10.1177/1079063209358106

Bennell, C., Emeno, K., Snook, B., Taylor, P. & Goodwill, A.M. (2009). The precision, accuracy, and efficiency of geographic profiling predictions: a simple heuristic versus mathematical algorithms. Crime Mapping: A Journal of Research & Practice, 1, 65-84.

Goodwill, A.M., Alison, L.J. & Beech, A.R. (2009). What works in Offender Profiling? A comparison of typological, thematic and multivariate models in stranger rape. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 27, 507-529. doi: 10.1002/bsl.867

Goodwill, A.M., Alison, L.J. & Humann, M. (2009). Multidimensional Scaling and the analysis of sexual offence behaviour: A Reply to Sturidsson et al. Psychology, Crime & Law, 15, 517-524. doi:10.1080/10683160802348511

Kelly, J., Goodwill, A.M., Keene, N., & Thrift, S (2009). A retrospective study of historical risk factors for pathological arson in adults with mild learning disabilities. British Journal of Forensic Practice, 11, 17-23.

Goodwill, A.M. & Alison, L.J. (2007). When is Profiling Possible? Offence planning and aggression as moderators in predicting offender age from victim age in stranger rape. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 25, 823-840. doi:10.1002/bsl.778

Goodwill, A.M. (2007). Current perspectives in forensic psychology training: The University of Birmingham Forensic Doctorate Programme (ForenPsyD), Forensic Update, 91, 42-47.

Goodwill, A.M. & Alison, L.J. (2006). The development of a filter model for prioritising suspects in burglary offences, Psychology, Crime and Law, 12, 395-416. doi:10.1080/10683160500056945

Goodwill, A.M. & Alison, L.J. (2005). Sequential angulation, spatial dispersion and consistency of distance attack patterns from home in serial murder, rape and burglary, Psychology, Crime and Law, 11, 161-176. doi:10.1080/10683160512331316352

Alison, L.J., West, A. & Goodwill, A.M. (2004). The academic and the practitioner: pragmatists’ views of offender profiling, Journal of Psychology, Public Policy and Law, 10, 71-101. doi: 10.1037/1076-8971.10.1-2.71

Smulzinski, K.K., Goodwill, A.M. & Szechtman, H. (2000). Locomotor sensitisation to quinpirole in rats: effects of drug abstinence and sex, Psychopharmacology, 152, 304-311. Doi:10.1007/s002130000538

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). Informing practice: Research methods in crime linkage analysis. 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 justicePredictive models and geographic profiling (pp. 86-99). New York, NY: Springer.

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.

Almond, L., Alison, L., Eyre, M., Crego, J., & Goodwill, A.M. (2008). Heuristics and biases in decision-making. In L.J. Alison & J.  Crego (Eds.), Policing critical incidents: Leadership and critical incident management. London, UK: Willan.

Alison, L.J., Goodwill, A.M., & Alison, E. (2005). The Madjenko, Mascav and Eve case: A study in linking and suspect prioritisation. In L.J. Alison (Ed.), The forensic psychologists’ casebook: A practical guide in preparing reports on violent and sexual offences (pp. 235-277)London, UK: Willan.