Fundamentals of Mental Health is the first session in Crisis Intervention Team training. The session is an overview of mental health issues that officers and other CIT-trained personnel may encounter when responding to a call. By extension, diagnostic criteria of the most common mental health disorders including, but not limited to, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and persistent depressive disorders will be addressed toward allowing trainees the ability to identify and intervene appropriately. The content provides the foundation for the issues that will be addressed throughout the week.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of Fundamentals of Mental Health, attendees will be able to:
- Identify what factors impact our mental health
- Recognize the factors necessary for mental wellness
- Describe the life events that trigger mental health struggles
- Discuss common factors impacting law enforcement officers and related professions
- Assess (but not diagnose) mental health status and recognize outward manifestations
- Elaborate upon the B.A.T.H.E. Technique
- Explain common psychiatric diagnoses in the elderly population
- Explain common psychiatric diagnoses in the general population
- Define severe mental illness
- Distinguish between positive and negative symptoms
- Describe thought patterns of those struggling with schizophrenia
- Define the forms of schizophrenia
- Recognize the relationship between psychosis and violence
- Elaborate upon mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and substance use
- Recognize the importance of compassion in working with struggling individuals
- Identify nonverbal cues
- Demonstrate communication techniques recommended for CIT officers
