Counselors, certified, licensed or both, need to possess skills to access clients that are suicidal. Social workers, pastoral counselors and even family and friends should have basic suicide assessment skills to recognize high risk versus low risk. The video below offers some questions to ask and things to consider in determining if someone is high or low risk.
Suicide assessment is key in saving lives. Please also review AIHCP’s Crisis Intervention Counseling Program
Grief Counselors and Crisis Intervention Counselors may deal with these types of situations on a more regular basis and require the training needed to help others save their own life from the horrible decision of suicide. Please also review AIHCP’s Crisis Intervention Counseling Program and see if it meets your academic or professional goals.
Self harm occurs when individuals look to burn, cut, or in someway physically mark oneself. It can also be emotional or through dangerous behavior. In some cases, the individual is punishing oneself for displaced guilt, in other cases, the person is looking to numb the mental pain through physical pain. In many cases, those who commit self harm were victimized or experienced an earlier childhood trauma. Those who commit self harm are not looking to kill oneself but to punish oneself or escape mental pain.
Self harmers are either punishing oneself or trying to numb mental pain. Please also review AIHCP’s Crisis Intervention Program
To learn more, please also review AIHCP’s Crisis Intervention Specialist Program or AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Program. The programs are online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification. Both programs are open to clinical and non-clinical professionals but it must be stated only clinical licensed professionals can treat those who commit self harm with therapy.
Many non violent situations can get out of hand when police arrive. Crisis situations that may need professional guidance usually are greeted first by the police instead. This can lead to escalation and in the case of today’s current environment, a call for reform. One reform that has been reviewed is utilizing crisis professionals to deal with non violent calls.
First responders need more crisis counseling training when dealing with non violent calls. Please also review AIHCP’s Crisis Intervention Counseling Program
The article, “People in behavioral crisis often see police first The first line of response for someone undergoing a mental health crisis is public safety” by Joe Gamm looks at the reality that police are usually the first response to crisis. He states,
“Missouri has become a leader in efforts to equip law enforcement agencies to respond to someone undergoing a crisis. In 2013 and 2014, then-Gov. Jay Nixon created a strategic Strengthening Mental Health Initiative to help communities identify and care for Missourians with mental illness. Efforts of the initiative began to connect Community Health Centers with local law enforcement agencies through use of mental health liaisons — mental health professionals who work directly with law enforcement to provide services when needed. The initiative also emphasized the need to provide training so the agencies could create their own regional CIT.”
Training officers for crisis intervention and helping them be able to de-escalate non violent situations is critical for future police reforms. Certain calls need different approaches. They need different equipment and different training. This can reduce deaths of citizens in behavioral crisis at the hands of the police.
The article, “Interactive Ethics”, by Christina Hamlett states
“Honesty. Integrity. Sincerity. Respect. On any given day, we’d be hard pressed to use any of those words in a conversation about national politics.”
American Institute Health Care Professionals’ insight:
Here is an interview with Dr. Schear, head of our Crisis Intervention Program and head of CCMS.
If you are interested in the Crisis Intervention Program, then please let us know. After taking a few core courses, qualified professionals are eligible for certification. Certification lasts for three years in which it needs renewed.
In the meantime, please enjoy the blog and the articles, but be sure first to review the interview with our very own Dr. Schear
