Mental Health and Law Enforcement

I am the older sister of two brothers. Unfortunately, my middle brother has struggled with his mental health for the past decade. The experience of Covid, without a doubt, extremely exaggerated his symptoms. He could no longer go to classes at the community college he was attending, he could no longer go to the gym to create feel good endorphins and relieve stress, and he could no longer see his counselor in person. These are outlets and activities that many people lost, had to adapt, or compromise on in some way. It was stressful for the average person, but for those that were already struggling with their mental health, the experience was truly disturbing. It is important to add that he is on the spectrum as well.

I share this with you because while much of the world has bounced back and moved forward, many people, like my brother, are still suffering from their experience during the height of Covid. I am sad to say that his mental health is perhaps the worst it has ever been. The irony of me pursuing my master’s in clinical mental health at the same time is not lost on me. Anyway, due to struggles with his medications, my parents often have to reach out to law enforcement to calm him down during one of his episodes. With my parents both being in the middle of their sixties, they do not have the strength to pin him down like they used to. Yes, if my brother does not take his medicine or needs an extra dose he becomes physically violent.

This concerns me for many reasons. Mostly, because I do not live with them. I am certainly worried about my parents and youngest brother in those moments. However, the person I am most frightened for is my middle brother. I am scared that if the police are called, the wrong kind of officer will arrive, and the situation will escalate quickly. The fear is valid. There have been many stories covered over the past few years where someone suffering from a mental health crisis was at worst killed or at best treated like a criminal. Treating those that are experiencing a mental health crisis as a criminal can have lasting traumatic effects for the individual.

If you have a friend or family member experiencing an extreme mental health crisis and you must call for outside help, there is a specific way to do so to better protect the individual and aid their experience. When you call 911, make sure to state that your reason for calling is that of a mental health crisis or mental health emergency. That is the first piece of information you should give. If you are lucky, you may live in a county that has a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT). Cook County, where we reside, does in fact have a CIT program. CIT programs were created to assist specifically in situations of mental health crisis. CIT trained officers are members of the Police Department that have special training in de-escalating mental health crisis. They help to protect both the individuals and the other responding officers involved. They aim to stabilize situations they are called to and connect individuals with appropriate mental health care as opposed to the individual entering the judicial system. I encourage you to find out if your local police have a CIT program. If they do not, you may want to call them up and ask when they plan to get one!

If you would like to speak to a professional counselor or psychologist about this and are in the Chicago area, please feel free to contact Olive Branch Counseling Associates, Inc. at 708-633-8000. We are located at 6819 West 167^th Street in Tinley Park, Illinois 60477.

Hillary R.,

Masters Level Intern, 2023