Crisis Intervention Training needed to help the mentally ill

Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) saves lives. CIT teaches police how best to interact with and assist individuals with mental illness, improving the safety of all concerned.

[CIT Team Program is a collaboration of professionals committed to assisting persons with behavioral health disorders (mental illness,developmental disabilities, Alzheimer’s disease and addictive disease).

This collaboration includes local members of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), mental health service providers family members, and law enforcement officers. The most important aspect of the CIT Program is the training provided to law enforcement officers.]

Through this critical training, officers learn about mental illnesses and how to de-escalate a crisis situation, avoiding harm to anyone involved.

People with mental illnesses are usually not dangerous, but can become panicked or agitated when confronted by aggression.

An officer trained in CIT will likely be able to get the unstable person to a mental health treatment center (rather than jail or prison), where the treatment is cheaper and more effective.

Bipolar, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder are illnesses, not crimes.

Addressing troubling symptoms that may lead to crises requires training, skill, and empathy.

For the CIT program to be successful, there needs to be a strong partnership between law enforcement (or any first responders, such as firefighters), mental health advocates, and mental health treatment providers.

For more information about CIT in our community, contact the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Broward office at 954-316-9907.

This story was originally published June 12, 2018 at 1:14 AM with the headline "Crisis Intervention Training needed to help the mentally ill."