Bryan V. Gibb, CIT, Director of Public Education, National Council for Behavioral Health

“Police executives are challenged with providing effective services to the whole community served by their departments, which includes persons experiencing crises or mental health challenges. Training is certainly a key component in preparing officers to respond effectively to situations involving persons with mental health issues, and the greater their proficiency, the greater the likelihood of a safe and effective outcome.

“The gold standard for such preparation is the 40-hour Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training, but a new complementary evidence-based program, Mental Health First Aid for Public Safety (MHFA-PS), has been piloted and distributed around the United States by the National Council for Behavioral Health, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Missouri Department of Mental Health.¹ This program has been adopted as an 8-hour training for non-CIT-certified officers, either as a stepping stone to CIT certification or as required training for all new cadets.

“MHFA-PS provides a basic action plan officers can use to perform their integral and ever-present role as first responders and conduits to behavioral health and criminal justice systems. Participants learn the risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems; build understanding of the importance of early intervention; reduce stigma, and, most importantly, learn how to help someone in crisis or experiencing a mental health challenge.

“MHFA-PS training is designed for offi- cers to utilize not only during a mental health crisis response, but also during their routine consensual encounters with victims, witnesses, homeless people, missing persons, and other community members appearing distressed. Similar to standard first-aid training, MHFA-PS skills can be applied on or off duty in a variety of settings, to include helping family, friends, and comrades potentially affected. In addition, any public safety officer, regardless of rank or position, may find him- or herself confronted with a mental health crisis. The expansion of community corrections reentry programs may increase contacts between public safety officers and inmates affected by mental illness residing locally. Other known affected groups includes youth, possibly facing the onset of a mental illness condition; the elderly; and perhaps most regrettably, returning veterans.”

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