Top 10 Ways to Make Your CIT A Success Sarah Burtenshaw Mental Health Worker & CIT Coordinator Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Crisis Outreach and Support Team (COAST) 4 full-time police officers worknwith nurse, social workers and occupational therapists 24/7 crisis line Police/mental health crisis team 2,000 outreach visits 14,000 phone calls

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

CIT Hamilton Police Service (15) Niagara Regional Police Service (15) Brantford Police Service (3) Halton Regional Police Service (3) Norfolk OPP (3) Ontario Provincial Police provide policing across most of Ontario 30 courses

Today’s Presentation Identify 10 activities you can include in your CIT to make it more interesting and more understandable

Understanding Psychosis Hallucinations are false sensory perceptions Hearing, seeing, smelling, feeling and tasting things which aren’t there The more stressed the individual is the more intense the hallucination will be 3 voice experience

If you stare at the blinking pink dots, you will see only one color, pink. If you look at the + in the center, you'll see a circle of pink dots and a rotating green dot. But, if you stare at the + without moving your eyes, the pink dots will disappear and you will see only a rotating green dot. It's amazing how our brain works. There really is no green dot and the pink ones don't really disappear. This is proof that we don't always see what we think we see.

Delusions Fixed false beliefs not in keeping with the person’s cultural or religious beliefs

Black SUV Day!

De-escalation Techniques Focus of the training is to slow officers down The following exercises illustrate how a person who is paranoid processes information and why it is important to take time when interacting with a person who is psychotic

RED BLUE GREEN YELLOW GREY PINK YELLOW PURPLE ORANGE BROWN BLACK GREY GREEN YELLOW PINK BLUE PURPLE BROWN RED GREEN

Psychosis Video Developed by the Ontario Police Video Tape Alliance www.opvta.com

Dementia “Silver Tsunami” Understanding the neurology of dementia helps with understanding the impact on a person’s functioning

Dementia “Silver Tsunami” with the dramatic increase of dementia cases over the next 20 years with the baby boomers coming of age

Normal Brain vs. Alzheimer’s Brain

Memories as files in a cabinet

Problem Solving Difficulties The diagnosis of dementia does not mean the individual will immediately have to give up the person’s driver’s licence The diagnosis does mean the person will eventually have to give up driving Trail Test A and B

Apraxia Difficulty initiating/directing body parts to do familiar tasks Mirror/Star Test

Assessing The Individual A: Age and Appearance - Appearance of the person and their living environment B. Behavior: Describe the unusual behaviors the person demonstrated C. Cognition: What were they thinking D. Danger: Risk to self and others

Video Based Training Video-based training online for officers to complete independently Different options are offered with reference information provided as the scenarios progress http://cirt.uoit.ca/LOs/mainMenu/

Resources “Psychosis” DVD – www.opvta.com Video-based learning: http://cirt.uoit.ca/LOs/mainMenu/ Sarah Burtenshaw: SBurtenshaw@stjoes.ca