Sean Cullen is a Licensed Professional Counselor and was one of my first interviews last year before I graduated with my doctorate from Rutgers School of Social Work. So, if the sound is less than perfect, please forgive those imperfections. I wanted to release this podcast because Sean discusses how to effectively work with law enforcement in dealing with mobile psychiatric crisis situations in the community. This requires extensive training, but when done right, it can be an extremely beneficial and life-saving service.

Sean is extensively trained and has over 19 years of experience working in emergency community settings as a Mobile Crisis Screener in Morris County, New Jersey. Sean is also a Medical and Psychiatric Clinician at one New Jersey’s best hospital systems, and actually took over for me when I left this hospital to pursue my doctoral work.

Mobile Crisis is the provision of emergency mental health services in the home. If you are concerned about yourself, a family member, or a friend who is experiencing a psychiatric crisis, you can request a Mobile Crisis team to provide mental health intervention and support in the home to help overcome resistance to treatment (Goldman, 2015). Mobile crisis teams can provide mental health engagement, intervention and follow-up support to help overcome resistance to treatment.

Depending on what a person is willing to accept, the teams may offer a range of services, including: Assessment, Crisis intervention, Supportive counseling, Information and referrals, including to community-based mental health services, and Transport to Psychiatric Emergency Room.

If a mobile crisis team determines that a person in crisis needs further psychiatric or medical assessment, they can transport that person to a hospital psychiatric emergency room. Mobile crisis teams may direct police to take a person to an emergency room against their will only if they have a mental illness (or the appearance of mental illness) and are a danger to themselves or others.

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Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is not a substitute for getting help from a mental health professional.