Mental health crisis requires a special brand of response from the state. Using law enforcement when violence is not an issue can quickly escalate the situation. In the news, the United States sees many unneeded deaths and escalated situations due to poor training by the police in crisis intervention.
The article, “What’s Next: Improving Mental Health Crisis Response” by Nicole Merlene looks into how law enforcement can become better trained to face these unique situations. The article states,
“There is limited co-response with both a clinician and responding police officer. While it is impressive that ¾ of Arlington’s police force is “Crisis Intervention Trained” (CIT), police acknowledged during this process that their presence with flashing lights and uniforms immediately escalates a crisis situation even with the best trained officers.”
To read the entire article, please click here
Please also review AIHCP’s Crisis Intervention Counseling Certification and see if it matches your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Crisis Counseling.