Crisis Intervention and Suicidality

Presented by Quinn Tyminski

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Video Runtime: 84 Minutes, Learning Assessments: 45 Minutes

High rates of mental illness, coupled with decreased access to health care services, result in many individuals with mental illness being undiagnosed or untreated. Mental illness, trauma, and substance use all impact an individual’s ability to regulate emotions, resulting in a mental health crisis, or a situation in which a person’s behavior puts them at risk for harm. This course is designed for nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists to gain a basic understanding of how to handle a mental health crisis. A basic knowledge of crisis de-escalation, intervention techniques, and information pertaining to suicidality and homicidality will be explored.

Meet your instructor

Quinn Tyminski

Dr. Quinn Tyminski currently serves as an instructor in the program in occupational therapy at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Tyminski earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from Washington University in 2012 and her clinical doctorate of occupational therapy in 2017 from…

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Chapters & learning objectives

Crisis Intervention Basics

1. Crisis Intervention Basics

This chapter introduces the basics of mental illness and crisis intervention and provides a foundation for practitioners to understand how a mental health crisis occurs. Practitioners should be able to better understand the root cause of a mental health crisis after engaging with this chapter.

De-escalation Cycle and Levels

2. De-escalation Cycle and Levels

This chapter explores the cycle of de-escalation and provides hallmark features to identify a client's level within the de-escalation cycle. Practitioners should be able to identify where on the cycle of de-escalation a client is in order to implement appropriate interventions.

De-escalation Interventions

3. De-escalation Interventions

This chapter focuses on interventions for each level of crisis de-escalation, including examples of appropriate communication techniques. Safety considerations are addressed at each level to ensure the safety of the client and practitioners. Understanding the necessary interventions for each level of de-escalation is vital to ensuring the crisis does not escalate and can be dealt with without violent intervention.

High Risk for Violence De-escalation

4. High Risk for Violence De-escalation

This chapter focuses solely on situations in which a high risk for violence is present. Intervention strategies and information regarding law enforcement are provided. Interventions to prevent future situations from escalating are demonstrated.

Suicidal and Homicidal Intent

5. Suicidal and Homicidal Intent

This chapter focuses solely on suicidal and homicidal intent in clients with mental illness. Strategies for communicating around these sensitive topics are discussed, as well as the use of safety planning interventions to ensure that practitioners have basic skills in addressing a mental health crisis.