Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Area law enforcement officers will receive training on responding to mental health crisis situations as part of a collaborative effort by Piedmont Behavioral Healthcare, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and the Rowan, Cabarrus and Union county affiliates of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
The 40-hour “Crisis Intervention Team” course, scheduled for Jan. 14-18, is patented after the nationally renowned Memphis Tennessee Police Department’s CIT Program offering specialized training to law enforcement officers responding to mental health crises.
The first of its kind in this area, the training encourages law enforcement agencies, mental health professionals and local community service agencies to work together to meet the special needs of people experiencing a mental health crisis.
Officers will receive training on topics such as understanding mental illness, developmental disabilities, substance abuse, co-occurring disorders, brain theory, personality disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and the affects of psychotropic medications.
The Crisis Intervention Team program emphasizes safety first and teaches crisis intervention and verbal de-escalation techniques that reduce the risk of harm to officers and people with mental illness in a crisis situation.
Dan Coughlin, chief executive officer of Piedmont Behavioral, said local law enforcement officers are often called upon to intervene in psychiatric crises. “It’s high time that we offer them the educational tools they need to handle volatile situations involving people suffering from poorly understood conditions and circumstances,” he said.
So far, eight local law enforcement agencies ó Cabarrus, Davidson, Rowan and Union sheriff’s departments along with the Concord, Kannapolis, Monroe and Salisbury police departments ó have registered their officers for the training.
The Crisis Intervention Team course will be held at the Rowan Campus of the Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and will offer officers continuing education credits to help them meet their annual law enforcement training requirements.