Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training
This training refers to a collaborative effort between law enforcement and the mental health community to help law enforcement and other first responders through incidents involving persons living with mental illness. This advanced training provides an emphasis on officer and consumer safety, focusing on effective treatment referrals for those in crisis. CIT has been shown to positively impact perceptions, decrease the need for higher levels of police intervention, decrease officer and consumer injuries, and re-direct those in crisis from the criminal justice system to the health care system. NAMI Richland County offers this training free of charge to all first responders in the Richland County and surrounding areas. Donations encouraged to help support with manuals, meals, and resources provided to attendees.
What you can expect during training…
This is a week long training, Monday through Friday. Classes begin promptly at 8:00am and finish around 4:00pm. Pastries and coffee are provided each morning, along with lunch each day, except on Thursday. Attendees are free to dress casual daily, Monday through Thursday, but must wear their duty uniform on Friday for role playing and graduation.
Richland County provides education on the following topics:
Introduction to psychiatric illnesses
Assisted outpatient treatment, civil commitment, legal and mental health processing after arrest
Mental health court
Dual Diagnoses - substance abuse and mental illness
Psychiatric medications
Suicide prevention and suicide by cop
PTSD and critical incident debriefing
Trauma and children in crisis
Principles of de-escalation and tactical safety
Developmental disabilities, autism, and deaf services
Family & personal perspectives and much more!
List of upcoming trainings…
June 10 - 14, 2024
October 7 - 11, 2024
February 3 - 7, 2025
June 9 - 13, 2025
In the works…
Our office strives to assist our first responders and meet the needs that have been shared with us. In response, we are working vigorously to prepare a 1-day refresher course. If you have any additional questions, ideas, or concerns you would like to share with our office, please contact us via email at families@namirc.org or by calling 419-522-6264.
