Crisis Response Model Preferences of Mental Health Care Clients With Prior Misdemeanor Arrests and of Their Family and Friends

The overrepresentation of people with serious mental illnesses in the criminal legal system has spurred the development of crisis response models to improve or reduce police response to a mental health crisis. However, limited research has explored preferences for crisis response, and no research in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) Vol. 74; no. 11; pp. 1163 - 1170
Main Authors:	Pope, Leah G, Patel, Ashnee, Fu, En, Zingman, Michael, Warnock, Amanda, Ellis, Samantha, Ashekun, Oluwaytoyin, Watson, Amy, Wood, Jennifer, Compton, Michael T
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc 01-11-2023
Subjects:	Crisis Intervention Friends Health care Humans Mental disorders Mental Disorders - therapy Mental Health Mental health care Mental Health Services Police United States United States Serious mental illness Crisis intervention Criminal justice involvement Mental health crisis Crisis response Police response
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Summary:	The overrepresentation of people with serious mental illnesses in the criminal legal system has spurred the development of crisis response models to improve or reduce police response to a mental health crisis. However, limited research has explored preferences for crisis response, and no research in the United States has examined the responses desired by mental health care clients or their family members. This study aimed to understand the experiences of people with serious mental illnesses interacting with police and to learn about their preferences for crisis response models. The authors interviewed 50 clients with serious mental illnesses and a history of arrest who were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of a police-mental health linkage system, as well as 18 of their family members and friends. Data were coded with deductive and inductive approaches and were grouped into larger themes. Clients and family or friends described needing a calm environment and empathy during a crisis. They selected a nonpolice response as their first choice and response from a crisis intervention team as their last choice among four options, highlighting the importance of trained responders and past negative interactions with police. However, they also noted concerns about safety and the shortcomings of a nonpolice response. These findings build understanding about clients' and family members' preferences for crisis response and highlight concerns that are relevant for policy makers.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Undefined-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23
ISSN:	1075-2730 1557-9700 1557-9700
DOI:	10.1176/appi.ps.20220363