MMPI Workshops & Symposium

This full-day workshop introduces the MMPI-3, the most up-to-date, newly-normed version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The presenters will describe the rationale for and methods used to develop the MMPI-3, the new English- and Spanish-language norms, the 52 MMPI-3 scales, documentation available to help guide test users, interpretive guidelines, and they will provide case illustrations. Attendees will learn more about how the MMPI-3 builds on the legacy and strengths of the MMPI instruments to provide an empirically-validated, psychometrically-sound measure of psychopathology and personality. It is assumed that attendees will have graduate-level training in psychological testing and assessment.

Learning Objectives 

Participants will be able to: 

• Describe the MMPI-3 background and development process. 
• Describe the MMPI-3 normative samples. 
• Describe the new MMPI-3 scales. 
• Identify updates made to MMPI-2-RF scales. 
• Describe the constructs assessed by the MMPI-3 scales. 
• Identify the empirical foundations for using the MMPI-3. 
• Interpret MMPI-3 protocols following standard interpretation procedures for the test.

Schedule:

8:30:  Registration

9:00:  MMPI-3 Background and Development (Dr. Yossef Ben-Porath)

10:45:  MMPI-3 Norms, Scales, and Psychometrics (Dr. Dustin Wygant)

12:15:  Lunch Break (90 minutes)

1:45:  MMPI-3 Administration, Scoring, and Interpretation (Dr. Martin Sellbom)

3:30:  Case Illustrations (Drs. Wygant & Sellbom)

5:00:  Adjourn

This workshop focuses on using the MMPI-3 Public Safety Candidate Interpretive Reports (PSCIRs) and recently published Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) Police Preemployment Interpretive Report (PPIR) in preemployment psychological evaluations. A model for integrating test with collateral/background information and clinical interview findings to determine a candidate’s psychological suitability for police and other public safety employment will be presented. Legal considerations and best practices will be covered and illustrated with case studies.

Learning Objectives 

Participants will be able to: 

• Discuss legal considerations in preemployment psychological evaluations. 
• Describe procedures and best practices in preemployment psychological evaluations of public safety candidates. 
• Discuss the research literature available to guide use of the MMPI-3 and MPQ in preemployment psychological evaluations. 
• Apply a model (Spilberg & Corey, 2022) for integrating data from multiple data sources, including information from written tests, personal history, and clinical interview, when conducting preemployment evaluations of public safety candidates. 
• Rely on comparison group findings and job-relevant correlates from the MMPI-3 PSCIRs and MPQ PPIR to make evidence-based suitability determinations and prepare written reports. 

Schedule:

8:30:  Registration

9:00:  Overview of the MMPI-3 Public Safety Candidate Interpretive Reports (Dr. David Corey)

10:45:  Introduction to the MPQ and PPIR: Empirical Foundations, Rationale, and Structure (Dr. Martin Sellbom)

12:15:  Lunch Break (90 minutes)

1:45:  Recommended Practices for Preemployment Evaluations and Data Integration Model (Dr. David Corey)

3:30  Case Illustrations (Drs. Ben-Porath and Corey)

5:00:  Adjourn

This advanced-level workshop is designed for individuals who have completed the "Introduction to the MMPI-3" workshop or on-demand training offering or have general familiarity with the MMPI-3. Attendees will further develop their MMPI-3 interpretation knowledge and skills by acquiring in-depth familiarity with the MMPI-3 Validity Scales, information relevant to diversity-sensitive assessment with the MMPI-3, and guidance on use of the MMPI-3 in the assessment of personality disorders and trauma- and stressor-related disorders. Case illustrations will be presented. 

Learning Objectives 

Participants will be able to:

• Interpret the MMPI-3 Validity Scales at an advanced level.
• Consider confounds that impact MMPI-3 validity scale scores.
• Discuss the research literature on use of the MMPI instruments with members of various demographic groups.
• Describe best practices for conducting diversity-sensitive assessments with the MMPI-3.
• Use the MMPI-3 when assessing for personality disorders.
• Use the MMPI-3 when assessing for trauma- and stressor-related disorders.

Schedule:

8:30:  Registration

9:00:  Advanced MMPI-3 Validity Scale Interpretation (Dr. Yossef Ben-Porath)

10:45:  Assessing Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders With the MMPI-3 (Dr. Paul Arbisi)

12:15:  Lunch Break (90 minutes)

1:45:  Diversity-Sensitive Assessment With the MMPI-3 (Dr. Yossef Ben-Porath)

3:30:  Assessing Personality Disorders With the MMPI-3 (Dr. Martin Sellbom)

5:00:  Adjourn

This advanced-level workshop focuses on use of the MMPI-3 in forensic mental health assessments. It is designed for individuals who have completed the “Introduction to the MMPI-3” workshop or on-demand training offering or have general familiarity with the MMPI-3. General considerations when using the MMPI-3 in forensic mental health assessments will be covered, including how to respond to admissibility challenges, use of the MMPI-3 in criminal court cases, and use of the MMPI-3 in disability evaluations. Case studies will be presented that illustrate forensic applications of the MMPI-3. 

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Describe general considerations when using the MMPI-3 in forensic mental health assessments.
• Respond to challenges to using the MMPI-3 in forensic mental health assessments.
• Incorporate MMPI-3 findings when formulating forensic opinions.
• Use MMPI-3 findings in criminal court evaluations.
• Incorporate MMPI-3 findings in disability evaluations.

Schedule:

8:30:  Registration

9:00:  Using the MMPI-3 in Forensic Mental Health Assessments Part 1 (Dr. Martin Sellbom)

10:45:  Using the MMPI-3 in Forensic Mental Health Assessments Part 2 (Dr. Martin Sellbom)

12:15:  Lunch Break (90 minutes)

1:45:  Using the MMPI-3 in Disability Evaluations (Dr. Paul Arbisi)

3:30:  Forensic Case Illustrations (Dr. Dustin Wygant)

5:00:  Adjourn

Dr. Paul Arbisi , Ph.D., ABAP, ABPP, L.P. retired in 2023 after 33 years as a staff clinical psychologist at the Minneapolis VA Health Care Center and is currently a Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Minnesota.  Dr. Arbisi has published extensively on the use of the MMPI-2/MMPI-2 RF/MMPI-3 in psychiatric and medical settings as well as in the assessment of trauma related conditions including PTSD. He has co-authored and developed several scales contained on the MMPI instruments including several scales designed to identify non-credible reporting of symptoms.  His program of research is broadly focused on exploring the utility of psychological assessment in applied clinical settings including whether integration of trait level personality information into treatment planning can promote treatment engagement and lead to improved clinical outcomes.    Further, as an investigator in a series of longitudinal studies of risk and resilience factors in deployed national guard soldiers, his research was focused toward better understanding the contribution of dimensional models of personality and psychopathology in identifying soldiers most likely to weather the challenges of deployment without developing stressor-related psychiatric conditions.  

Dr. Arbisi currently maintains an active medico-legal practice specializing in evaluating consequential psychological injuries and trauma related conditions.  .

Dr. Yossef Ben-Porath is professor of psychological sciences at Kent State University. He received his doctoral training at the University of Minnesota and has been involved extensively in MMPI research for the past 38 years. He is codeveloper of the MMPI-3, MMPI-2-RF, and MMPI-A-RF and coauthor of test manuals, books, book chapters, and articles on the MMPI instruments. Former editor-in-chief of the journals Assessment and Psychological Assessment, Dr. Ben-Porath is a board-certified clinical psychologist (American Board of Professional Psychology-Clinical) whose clinical practice involves supervision of assessments at Kent State’s Psychological Clinic, consultation to agencies that screen candidates for public safety positions, and provision of consultation and expert witness services in forensic cases.

Dr. David Corey is a licensed psychologist with more than 30 years of experience performing high-stakes evaluations of public safety applicants and employees. He is the founding president of the American Board of Police & Public Safety Psychology and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association.

He is board certified in forensic psychology and in police and public safety psychology with the American Board of Professional Psychology. Dr. Corey is licensed in Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, California, Utah, and Arizona.

Dr. Martin Sellbom is a Professor in Clinical Psychology at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 2007 from Kent State University. His research focuses on psychopathy and other personality disorders, the integration of personality and psychopathology, and personality assessment with the MMPI instruments. Professor Sellbom's work has been featured in over 300 publications with three books, including Introducing the MMPI-3 (co-authored with Yossef Ben-Porath). He has won several awards, including the American Psychological Foundation’s Theodore Millon mid-career award for advancing personality science, American Psychology-Law Society’s Saleem Shah Award and Society for Personality Assessment’s Samuel and Anne Beck Award for early career achievement. Professor Sellbom serves as the Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Personality Assessment. For his clinical practice, he specializes in forensic psychological evaluations.

Dr. Dustin Wygant is a Professor of Psychology and Program Director of clinical training at Eastern Kentucky University, where he also serves as the Executive Director of Integrated Behavioral Health. He has a long history of MMPI research and has contributed to the MMPI-3 literature. He has co-authored a book on the MMPI-2-RF on forensic applications. He is a recipient of both the John Exner and Samuel and Anne Back awards from SPA. Dr. Wygant is a Fellow of the Society of Personality Assessment and the American Psychological Association. In addition to his academic career, Dr. Wygant regularly conducts forensic mental health assessments and testifies as an expert witness.