Transcript Slide 1
Sarah Burtenshaw
Mental Health Worker & CIT Coordinator
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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 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
Identify 10 activities you can include in your
CIT to make it more interesting and more
understandable
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.
Fixed false beliefs not in keeping with the
person’s cultural or religious beliefs
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
Developed by the Ontario Police Video Tape
Alliance
www.opvta.com
“Silver Tsunami”
Understanding the neurology of dementia
helps with understanding the impact on a
person’s functioning
“Silver Tsunami” with the dramatic increase of
dementia cases over the next 20 years with
the baby boomers coming of age
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
Difficulty initiating/directing body parts to do
familiar tasks
Mirror/Star Test
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 online for officers to
complete independently
Different options are offered with reference
information provided as the scenarios
progress
http://cirt.uoit.ca/LOs/mainMenu/
“Psychosis” DVD – www.opvta.com
Video-based learning:
http://cirt.uoit.ca/LOs/mainMenu/
Sarah Burtenshaw:
[email protected]