Callers & Mental Illness
Guidance on dealing with callers who are experiencing a mental health crisis
"Studies show that those with a diagnosed mental illness don't commit any more crime than the rest of the population, yet they are 17% more likely to be the victims of crime."
In recent years calls with individuals who have mental illness have been covered in the media more and more and awareness of mental illness has increased as well. It's important that we as dispatchers are well trained to handle these types of calls, especially with the increased scrutiny. This course provides information regarding multiple mental illnesses and additional steps dispatchers can take and questions to ask to help better prepare officers for the call.
After this training you will be able to:
- Better recognize common mental illnesses and their symptoms.
- Ask pertinent questions to better assist callers reporting a party with mental illness.
- Understand the perspective of a caller who is suffering from or with someone suffering from mental illness.
- Utilize verbal de-escalation techniques to help callers experiencing mental health crises.
- Recognize approaches that will allow the caller to be more cooperative and build trust with you as the dispatcher.
- Provide officers pertinent information to be able to best determine how they handle the call.
Your Instructor
About Impact Dispatch
Founded in 2018, Impact Dispatch was created for dispatchers, by dispatchers with one clear purpose: to provide affordable, high-quality training and professional development for public safety communications professionals and agencies of every size.
We understand the realities of working behind the headset because our training is built from real-world experience. We also understand that training budgets can look very different from one communications center to another. A small or rural agency should not have to sacrifice quality simply because it does not have the training budget of a larger organization.
That's why affordability and accessibility are at the heart of Impact Dispatch.
Our training is designed to be practical, relevant, and applicable to the challenges communications professionals face every day. From foundational dispatcher skills and critical incident response to leadership, employee development, and advanced professional growth, we are committed to supporting communications professionals throughout their careers.
Impact Dispatch is more than a collection of online courses. Our goal is to help elevate the profession by giving dispatchers the knowledge, tools, resources, and confidence they need to grow—not only as telecommunicators, but as public safety professionals and future leaders.
Whether we are serving one dispatcher, a small communications center, or a large agency, our commitment remains the same:
Quality training should be within reach for everyone.
Created for Dispatchers. By Dispatchers. Built for the Profession.
Keep Learning. Keep Growing. Keep Making an Impact.
#BeTheChange
Course Curriculum
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StartMental Illness Overview
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StartAutism Spectrum Disorder (4:41)
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StartBipolar Disorder (5:57)
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StartBorderline Personality Disorder
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StartMajor Depressive Disorder (2:09)
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StartObsessive Compulsive Disorder
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StartPanic Disorder (5:20)
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StartPost Traumatic Stress Disorder (5:05)
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StartSuicidal Callers
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StartSchizophrenia (4:06)
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StartSection Quiz