Mobile Crisis
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Mobile Crisis, or Mobile Crisis Teams (MCT), are an in the United States and Canada (typically operated by hospital or community mental health agency) which services the community by providing immediate response emergency mental health evaluations, and other services to people in crisis. Evaluations are requested by hospital emergency rooms, ICUs, CCUs, jails, nursing homes, police, or EMS. These services are often available on a 24-hour basis. As of 2023, in parts of the USA and Canada teams can be called via the suicide & crisis 988 hotline.[1][2]
Mobile Crisis Teams can be requested due to a reasonable expectation of self-inflicted harm, or to harm another person, based on their words and/or actions. An assessment may be requested due to a person exhibiting signs of psychosis, grave disability, or altered mental status believed not to have an organic cause.
Criteria for sending Mobile Crisis Teams varies some across individual mental health agencies and legal jurisdictions. An assessment may be requested for situations involving alcohol and drugs (where there is not a mental health component), or "routine" evaluations requested where there is not a reasonable expectation of harm to the client or another individual, as long as psychopathology is not otherwise ruled out.
The Mobile Crisis clinician has typically obtained her/his Master's degree in a mental health-related field (such as social work, mental health counseling, or counseling psychology).[citation needed] The clinician performs the evaluation based on standard models of mental status examination (alert and oriented, mood, thought process, affect, etc.), and assigns a DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, Fifth Edition) diagnosis if this falls within their scope of practice. After completing the evaluation, the clinician makes a disposition, or placement, decision for the client. Placements can include involuntary in-patient hospitalization, voluntary in-patient hospitalization, or discharge to home with out-patient referrals. Following disposition, the Mobile Crisis Team can be expected to follow up with the client within a few days.
Many Mobile Crisis Teams also offer basic services such as water or blankets for unhoused people, and pointers to a wide array relevant services for people in crisis. These kinds of elements were pioneered beginning in 1989 in Eugene, Oregon by CAHOOTS.
In 2022, the US federal government started funding 85% of the cost of such teams, for cities starting and operating them.[3][4]
External links
References
- ^ https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2023/11/government-of-canada-launches-three-digit-suicide-crisis-helpline.html
- ^ https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/promoting-988-and-911-coordination-ensure-timely-and-appropriate-mental-health-crisis
- ^ https://www.kezi.com/news/oregon-first-state-to-earn-federal-approval-for-reimbursement-of-mobile-crisis-intervention-services/article_5cbcafb6-32dc-11ed-aa6d-dbe0bd8c5a72.html
- ^ https://apnews.com/article/health-police-government-and-politics-mental-health-coronavirus-f8931f4907b46b49dfb4dea651d7e1e7