Shelby County law enforcement officers participate in crisis response training

This week, Shelby County law enforcement officers and first responders attended a week-long training on crisis response. The Shelby County Mental Health Crisis Response Training included individuals from Shelby County Sheriff's Office, Hoover Police Department and other Shelby County first responders.

The training was sponsored by Shelby County Probate Court, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Health) Shelby, Shelby Baptist Medical Center, University of Montevallo and Joe's Italian.

While some first responders participated in a similar training last year, put on by Auburn University at Montgomery, the Alabama chapter of NAMI and the probate court, this was the first time the training was exclusive to Shelby County. Allison Boyd, mental health program coordinator and legal council for the probate judge, said this helps focus in on areas important to the county.

"This is different because it is Shelby County. We have had trainers from Shelby Baptist Medical Center, we've had trainers from Montevallo, trainers from Alabaster Police Department, trainers from Hoover Police Department. It is all local, so it's Shelby County problems and Shelby County solutions," Boyd said.

The training program covered a variety of crisis response topics, including the facts, signs and symptoms of mental illness; depression, personality disorders and medication; developmental disabilities; understanding and preventing suicide; and how to interact with individuals with mental illnesses.

"The first thing that we're trying to do is make sure they get an understanding of the different mental illnesses and then the treatments for those mental illnesses, including medications as well as the kind of therapies that go along with that," Boyd said. "And then we're also focusing on ways for them to respond to people with mental illness that are more appropriate than with other members of the general public."

In addition to guest speakers on those topics, attendees also participated in hands-on activities. One exercise included wearing headphones that simulated the voices an individual with schizophrenia might hear in their head. While wearing the headphones, participants would complete a psychological evaluation, take a reading comprehension test and answer basic questions such as "Who is the President of the United States?"

After this exercise, officers discussed what the experience was like. Some mentioned feeling anxiety; others said while they could distinguish between the "real" and "fake" voices, they understand how someone with a mental illness might not have that ability. Sometimes the voices gave commands, which threw off participants.

"Just sitting hear trying to read and all of a sudden someone says, 'Stop,' you just look around," said one officer, who said he couldn't tell if it was the recording or someone in the room giving instruction.

"Once we end the session, we can turn it off. We can go home. They can't," said Sgt. Reggie Parker, licensed professional counselor. 

Officers also asked questions, including if people who hear these voices could distinguish between reality and what's in their head. Parker said sometimes they can, but normally they just learn to cope with those internal voices. And they might not always be able to manage them. Another guest speaker noted these difficulties do not just apply to voices.

"People with depression can't just turn it off," she said, noting that something such as depression can affect how an individual reacts in a crisis scenario.

Toward the end of the program, local care providers were brought into the training. Having them present helped first responders put a face to a name, which can facilitate better relationships in the future, Boyd said.

"It's going to be the actual contacts that these people are going to be talking to, that our first responders will deal with," Boyd said. "So instead of just telling them in general, 'You could go to the probate office to do a commitment,' they will meet myself and Tracy Billingsley, that this is how we do things."

Overall, the training served as another tool for Shelby County officers and first responders, Boyd said, which is good for the safety of first responders and the community.

"It's important for them to have this kind of training," she said. "We're very fortunate in Shelby County that we have excellent officers and first responders, and [we want to do] anything we can add to their toolbox, so to speak. This gives them one more tool that they can use when they're performing their job to keep them safe and to keep members of our community safe."