Dr. Joseph E. Holifield is a seasoned licensed clinical and school psychologist with extensive experience in neuropsychological assessment, school-based interventions, threat assessment, case consultation, and therapeutic interventions. For seven years, he designed, developed, and implemented community behavioral threat assessment grant-funded projects in California, specifically, the Behavioral Health Assessment Response Project (B-HARP) and the San Luis Obispo School Threat Assessment and Response Project (SLO-STAMP). He presently has an active research agenda stemming from these projects that focus on stakeholder engagement, threat assessment protocol implementation, mental health professionals’ responses to targeted violence, and measuring upstream prevention in community systems. Dr. Holifield is an accomplished educator who has lectured in psychology at several universities for the last three decades. Presently, he is Adjunct Faculty in the Forensic and Clinical Psychology programs with The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at the Los Angeles Campus.

Dr. Holifield has provided presentations on threat assessment both nationally and internationally. Through workshops and organizational consultation, he coaches therapists in mental health agencies and school districts on identifying and responding to behavioral warning signs of targeted violence. His work in this area has been recognized by the California Psychological Association which is sponsoring a workshop series in the Spring 2026. Dr. Holifield is a subject matter expert and provides training to school and community threat assessment teams on the SK Cascade Student Preventive Threat Assessment and Management System through Public Consulting Group, Inc. Additionally, Dr. Holifield serves as a trainer, consultant, and subject-matter expert for Safer Schools Together, Inc. (SST).