MISSOULA — A 40-hour training wrapped up Thursday at Missoula’s Waypoint Church with a goal of giving law enforcement officers the tools they need to handle behavioral health situations.
The Crisis Response and Intervention Training (CRIT) Academy helps first responders learn how to communicate effectively with someone experiencing a mental health crisis. A wide range of agencies participated in this year’s training.
"So today we have a variety of responders from the Missoula area ranging from Fish and Game, Missoula Fire Department, Missoula Police, Missoula County Sheriff's Office," Dylan Diemer, one of the CRIT Academy’s lead instructors, said.
During Thursday’s training, Missoula-area officers ran scenarios and carried out steps taught in the CRIT curriculum to de-escalate situations, as they would in a real-life emergency.
“You start to realize that that is a lot of the job," Diemer, also a Missoula County Sheriff's deputy, said. "And a lot of our time is spent handling folks in crisis, whether it's not even related to a mental illness, but just people that are on the worst day of their life."
He said the training is not only meant to support officer safety but also to expand their understanding of mental health conditions.
"We always joke that nobody's calling 911 because they're having a great day," he said. "And so, even in those situations, this training is super valuable because it can teach you communication skills to work through that immediate acute crisis or the long-term crisis itself."
He said the training is not only meant to support officer safety but also to expand their understanding of mental health conditions.
Mental health crisis training has occurred in several Western Montana counties. Read previous coverage in Ravalli County here.
