Mental Health
Mental Health Role in Campus Security
by Lynn Carter, Deputy Director, Department of Mental Health
Soon after the tragic events that occurred in April 2007 at Virginia Tech, it became apparent that response to campus violence and possible prevention of future incidents would require partnerships between campus officials, law enforcement and mental health professionals.
These recommendations have implications for the role of mental health professionals on campus and in the community. Recommendations are intended to assist campuses in identifying potential safety risks, providing services that may prevent future tragedies, and collaborating across disciplines with law enforcement and campus authorities to work in the interest of the safety of students, staff, and faculty on and visitors to the 56 campuses scattered across the state of Missouri.
This section of the web page is designed to provide a “toolkit” and resource clearinghouse for individuals attempting to implement recommendations of the Campus Security Task Force (CSTF). Several specific recommendations of the CSTF relate to Department of Mental Health’s (DMH) role in:
- Involvement in emergency planning and preparedness efforts;
- Participation in interdisciplinary risk assessments;
- Referral and access to needed mental health services, including civil involuntary detention for mental health treatment;
- Confidentiality limitations and notification requirements related to mental health patients;
- Supports after an emergency event; and
- Provision of community resources to supplement campus mental health response capabilities after an emergency event.
The content of this website is structured to support individuals and teams charged with campus safety, implementing these recommendations, or anyone interested in improved planning for collaboration among campus officials, law enforcement, emergency response authorities and mental health to provide needed mental health supports in crisis situations.
Resources
NEW! Mental health and higher education campus emergency planning seminar 101
Mental Health Related Recommendations by Campus Security Task Force
Access Crisis Intervention Hotline
Disaster Communication Guidebook: Promoting Emotional Well-Being When Preparing for Disasters
Electronic Access to Mental Health All-Hazards Disaster Planning Guidance Booklet
Campus Suicide Prevention Grant Opportunity
Breakdown in Providing Mental Health Services (Article from Governing)
Power Point by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Mental Health in Disasters and Other Crises
U.S. Secret Services Information on Safety
Federal Resource Collection on Disaster Behavioral Health
Suicide in Missouri
Student Rights Related to Mental Health
Student Manual on Mental Health
Mental Health Facts for Students and Families
Recent Study Released by the Center for the Study of Collegiate Mental Health
ActiveMinds Focuses on University Student Mental Health
Mental Health Related Recommendations by Campus Security Task Force
For ease of the reader, these resources are listed in order as they are presented in the CSTF report under the relevant theme.
Recommendation: Students and other members of the campus community should have access to on-campus, licensed mental health services 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
Recommendation: Campus and local law enforcement should utilize the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model to train police officers skilled in dealing with mental health related incidents in their everyday work.
Recommendation: Emergency plans should include appropriate crisis-specific mental health responses, protocols and recovery functions including:
- Evidence-based mental health practices for responding to mental health needs of individuals directly or indirectly exposed to violence or trauma.
- Agreements involving mental health as a function of the emergency operations plan are available to incident command staff for decision making, planning, and support of responders.
A number of excellent resources exist on the internet to support emergency planners and mental health planning for effective preparedness, response and recovery for the campus community. Some select references are provided here.
Recommendation: A higher education subcommittee of Missouri’s Homeland Security Advisory Council should be formed.
Recommendation: Homeland Security Advisory Council to identify resources and training opportunities related to safety and security for college and university personnel.
Recommendation: The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) should ensure that adequate involvement from mental health professionals is included in response and recovery efforts for all crises, including those affecting postsecondary institutions.
Governmental Actions
Governmental Actions (pp 12-13 of CSTF Report)
The second recommendation in this section recommends that:
A higher education subcommittee of Missouri’s Homeland Security Advisory Council should be formed.
DMH has a designated representative of senior management who serves on the subcommittee. Contact information is:
Lynn Carter, MSW, LCSW
Deputy Director
State of Missouri
Department of Mental Health
1706 East Elm Street
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Telephone: (573) 751-7033
FAX: (573) 526-7926
Since the subcommittee has been created, DMH assisted in identifying campus mental health professionals to join in the subcommittee. In addition, mental health is participating in an analysis of mental health-related confidentiality provisions and their impact on collaboration and violence prevention and risk reduction.
Another recommendation with mental health implications directs the:
Homeland Security Advisory Council to identify resources and training opportunities related to safety and security for college and university personnel.
Implementation Actions and Resources:
DMH is working with the HES to develop a training template to be jointly sponsored by local CMHCs and campuses to address:
- Mental Health involvement in planning for emergency preparedness;
- Civil detention procedures for evaluation and involuntary treatment;
- Mental Health confidentiality statutes (federal and state) as well as relevant case law; and
- CIT training availability (Information about the seminars and attendance will be posted on the website as information becomes available.).
The final recommendation of this section states:
The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) should ensure that adequate involvement from mental health professionals is included in response and recovery efforts for all crises, including those affecting postsecondary institutions.
Implementation Actions and Resources:
DMH stands prepared to respond to emergencies affecting campuses and offer assistance as available, such as grant writing, coordination of surge capacity and activation of the DMH Emergency Operations Plan found at http://www.dmh.mo.gov/diroffice/disaster/disaster.htm.
Preparedness Culture
Preparedness Culture (p 9-10 of CSTF Report)
Recommendation:
Students and other members of the campus community should have access to on-campus, licensed mental health services 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
Implementation Actions and Resources:
If a campus does not operate its own mental health services with 24 hour/365 access, campus officials may want to explore establishing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a local community mental health center (CMHC) to augment or provide needed after-hours access. The following maps are available for download:
- A current map of local CMHCs (also known as contracted Administrative Agents); and
- A listing of after-hours crisis line phone numbers (referred to as ACI Hotlines).
In addition, the following document provides a modified introduction for use by campus officials. When establishing these linkages, campus authorities should develop agreements consistent with the considerations on the
matrix entitled Access to 24/7 Services.
The resources listed above will also assist campuses in operationalizing the following recommendations:
- On-campus mental health providers should establish consultation and referral relationships with public and private facilities that accept civil commitments.
- Every campus should establish a multidisciplinary (academic, law enforcement, mental health) team who share and review information about members of the campus community who are perceived as exhibiting behavior that has caused concern.
- The multidisciplinary team should work collaboratively to develop intervention strategies for individuals who potentially pose a risk to themselves or others.
The preparedness culture section of the CSTF also includes two
recommendations related to development and implementation of prevention programs to address substance abuse and related violence. A listing of evidence-based programs and related resources will be developed and attached in the near future. Until the specific information can be developed,
more general information about prevention can be found here.
Prevention Programs to Address Substance Abuse and Related Violence
http://prevention.samhsa.gov provides evidence-informed toolkits and information about prevention and awareness regarding alcohol and drug use among a variety of populations.
http://www.apahelpcenter.org/featuredtopics is maintained by the American Psychological Association and addresses resilience in the face of difficult life challenges and identifies tools and practices that promote resilience for us and our communities.
Responder Support (including web references)
Responder Support (pp 11-12 of CSTF Report)
One recommendation in this section recommends that campus and local law enforcement utilize the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model to train police officers skilled in dealing with mental health related incidents in their everyday work.
Implementation Actions and Resources:
Additional information about the benefits of CIT and the training model started by the Memphis Police Department can be found at the following links:
The Fiscal Year 2009 DMH budget included a small appropriation for training. Requests for training may be directed to the local CMHC or NAMI office. CIT has a proven track record of effectiveness and could be adapted to campus environments.
The second recommendation relevant to mental health states:
Emergency plans should include appropriate crisis-specific mental health responses, protocols and recovery functions including:
- Evidence-based mental health practices for responding to mental health needs of individuals directly or indirectly exposed to violence or trauma.
- Agreements involving mental health as a function of the emergency operations plan are available to incident command staff for decision making, planning, and support of responders.
Implementation Actions and Resources:
The first decision a campus executive or campus emergency planning designee will face is whether to utilize internal resources or contract for external resources for mental health expertise in crisis planning. The matrix for risk/benefit analysis of both options and a flow chart for decision making can be found by clicking the links below.
A number of excellent resources exist on the internet to support emergency planners and mental health planning for effective preparedness, response and recovery for the campus community. Some select references are provided here.
Selected Mental Health Resources
A number of excellent resources exist on the internet to support emergency planners and mental health planning for effective preparedness, response and recovery for the campus community. Some select references are provided:
- http://www.nmha.org/go/position-statements/72 (background information from the Mental Health America, formerly known as National Mental Health Association, about mental health and violence)
- http://www.nmha.org/index.cfm?objectid=2B5E7F6B-1372-4D20-C86B11CC9D138F83 (background information from the Mental Health Association about mental health and violence prepared following the Virginia Tech shooting tragedy)
- http://www.hhs.gov/vtreport.pdf (electronic pdf file of June 13, 2007, “Report to the President on Issues Raised by the Virginia Tec Tragedy”)
- http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2007/June/vt_report_061307.pdf (electronic pdf file of June 13, 2007, “Report to the President on Issues Raised by the Virginia Tec Tragedy”)
- http://www.nmha.org/go/about-us/pressroom/press-kits (mental health fact sheets for university community audiences after the Virginia Tech tragedy)
- http://dmh.mo.gov/diroffice/disaster/disaster.htm (DMH Disaster Services webpage with DMH emergency plan for mental health services after a disaster event plus other resources)
- http://www.bt.cdc.gov/masscasualties/ (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mass Casualty Event Preparedness and Response)
- http://www.nctsn.org/nccts/nav.do?pid=hom_main (Resource for parents, caregivers, educators, mental health professionals regarding trauma, natural disasters and terrorism and its effects on children)
- http://www.nctsn.org/nccts/nav.do?pid=typ_terr_resources_pfa (Psychological First Aid Field Operations Guide 2nd edition)
- http://www.samhsa.gov/Matrix/matrix_disaster.aspx (SAMHSA Disaster Readiness and Response Site – tips for talking about disasters and information for mental health and substance abuse professionals)
- http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/SMA-3959/default.asp (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Mental Health Response to Mass Violence and Terrorism: A Training Manual. DHHS Pub. No. SMA 3959. Rockville, MD: Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2004.)
- http://www.nctsnet.org/nccts/nav.do?pid=typ_terr_resources_pfa (2nd Edition: Psychological First Aid Field Operations Guide: The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) has launched the 2nd Edition of the Psychological First Aid (PFA) Field Operations Guide, a resource for helping children, adolescents, adults and families in the immediate aftermath of disaster and terrorism. PFA, which was developed in conjunction with the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (NC-PTSD), is an evidence-informed modular approach to helping victims of trauma, and is lauded by experts as the “acute intervention of choice” when responding to the psychosocial needs of children and adults. This approach is designed to reduce the initial distress caused by traumatic events and to foster short- and long-term adaptive functioning and coping skills.)
- http://prevention.samhsa.gov provides evidence-informed toolkits and information about prevention and awareness regarding alcohol and drug use among a variety of populations.
- http://www.apahelpcenter.org/featuredtopics is maintained by the American Psychological Association and addresses resilience in the face of difficult life challenges and identifies tools and practices that promote resilience for us and our communities.