thecrimeshop

Police getting help combating mental health issues

Mobile Technology to combat mental illness 

Police are not mental health care providers, they are not therapists, counselors nor are they psychiatrists. Because they are not mental health care providers it makes it difficult to work with someone who has a mental health issue.

People across the nation have begged police to come up with better ways to work with individuals that have mental health issues.

Police in Bartlesville, Oklahoma have taken that challenge and are doing just that by utilizing technology to put individuals in touch with help when they need it.

They have teamed up with mental health specialists to bring quick access to therapists which sometimes does in fact help prevent a trip to the hospital.

A trip that the individual might not be able to afford or they simply do not truly need, because normally police would have to take someone into protective custody.  

The way it works is that the person is given a choice to voluntarily accept help, he or she is connected to a therapist, RN or a recovery support specialist right away through an iPad that police carry with them and the service is available 24/7.

Mental health is very much a critical issue that police must deal with in today’s world. They must learn to work with those with mental health issues regardless of not being mental health care providers.

Utilizing technology as a way to bring help to those in need of mental health care rather than take them into protective custody is a very smart way of combating issues regarding mental health.

Sometimes all an individual really needs in the moment is just someone to talk to and more often than not when an individual is at a breaking point having just that one simple conversation can make all the difference in the world.

On the flip side of that the ability to have a therapist see and speak with an individual can really help police determine whether or not that individual is potentially in need of a visit to the hospital.

Mental health issues while difficult for police at times are a reality that they must deal with.

By using technology and bringing help to people is a very smart move on the part of police in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

In the end it could turn that it serves to actually save lives in the long run for those who have to battle his or her own mind on a daily basis.

Cristal M Clark

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