Police Response to Mental Health in Canada


Book Description

The overwhelming majority of police calls involve individuals with mental health experiences and yet limited resources exist to prepare first responders for these interactions. Police Response to Mental Health in Canada addresses this gap in the field, providing practical guidance to police studies students on how best to respond to mental health-related calls in both critical and non-critical situations.In addition, this book focuses on the mental health of policing professionals by addressing common mental health symptoms and providing strategies to improve the mental health wellness of policing professionals. Aligned with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, (DSM-5) criteria, this text provides in-depth explanations of the mental health conditions commonly encountered in policing, including mood, psychosis, personality, substance abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorders. Written in an accessible style, this book includes pedagogical tools such as scenario-based learning, case studies, reflection questions, group activities, and chapter summaries to reinforce the learning objectives outlined at the start of each chapter. With the increasing demand for law enforcement officials to be better informed and prepared to interact with those experiencing mental health issues, this is a timely resource for students in college and university police studies programs. FEATURES: - Learning objectives, case studies, and discussion questions - Contributions from leaders in fields of health services, psychology, criminology, policing, and corrections - Discussion of Canadian issues that are relevant across the country, including police relations with Indigenous populations and incidents of gang-related violence




A Concise Introduction to Mental Health in Canada, Third Edition


Book Description

This remarkable third edition offers a unique contribution to mental health literature. It covers the full spectrum of issues related to mental health and illness in Canada, incorporating insights from a diversity of physical and social science perspectives, to expand the way readers think about mental health. Interdisciplinary and reader-friendly, this engaging volume introduces students to a wide range of topics, including substance use, children and youth, trauma, culture, gender and sexuality, diagnosis and treatment, and population approaches. Updates to this edition comprise new insights on topics such as the opioid crisis, legalization of cannabis, changes to provincial mental health acts, and an expansion on previously included Indigenous mental health content. As an introductory text, A Concise Introduction to Mental Health in Canada provides a superb foundation for students of medicine, nursing, social work, psychology, and public health. FEATURES: - Authors weave practical examples and fundamental theory with contributions and anecdotes from their own careers - Robust pedagogy, including critical reflection questions, annotated further readings, helpful charts and figures, and more, makes this text essential reading - Provides a toolkit of evidence-based strategies and skills for students and practitioners looking to promote and maintain their own mental health and well-being




Community Mental Health in Canada, Revised and Expanded Edition


Book Description

Community Mental Health in Canada offers a timely, critical overview of the provision of public mental health services in Canada, past, present, and future. This new edition has been substantially revised and expanded and includes a deeper discussion of stigma, the recovery vision, the pharmaceutical industry, and mental health law, in addition to an array of new topics. Recent developments such as the creation of the Mental Health Commission of Canada in 2007 and the release of its national mental health strategy document in 2012 are also discussed. Accessibly written and highly informative, it is an indispensable resource for students, practitioners, and policy makers, as well as service recipients and their families.




POLICE TRAUMA


Book Description

The police fight a different kind of war, and the enemy is the police officer's own civilian population: those who engage in crime, social indignity, and inhumane treatment of others. The result for the police officer is both physical and psychological battering, occasionally culminating in the officer sacrificing his or her life to protect others. This book focuses on the psychological impact of police civilian combat. During a police career, the men and women of police agencies are exposed to distressing events that go far beyond the experience of the ordinary citizen, and there is an increased need today to help police officers deal with these traumatic experiences. As police work becomes increasingly complex, this need will grow. Mental health and other professionals need to be made aware of the conditions and precipitants of trauma stress among the police. The goal of this book is to provide that important information. The book's perspective is based on the idea that trauma stress is a product of complex interaction of person, place, situation, support mechanisms, and interventions. To effectively communicate this to the reader, new conceptual and methodological considerations, essays on special groups in policing, and innovative ideas on recovery and treatment of trauma are presented. This information can be used to prevent or minimize trauma stress and to help in establishing improved support and therapeutic measures for police officers. Contributions in the book are from professionals who work with police officers, and in some cases those who are or have been police officers, to provide the reader with different perspectives. Chapters are grouped into three sections: conceptual and methodological issues, special police groups, and recovery and treatment. The book concludes with a discussion of issues and identifies future directions for conceptualization, assessment, intervention, and effective treatment of psychological trauma in policing.




Police Responses to People with Mental Illnesses


Book Description

According to the World Health Organisation during their lifetime more than one quarter of all individuals will develop one or more mental or behavioural disorders. Given prevalence data like this it is not surprising that wherever they reside on the planet many persons suffering from a mental disorder, or as is more commonly termed in popular parlance a mental illness, are likely to come into contact with police at some stage in their lives. Indeed, research conducted in a number of countries suggests that about 10 per cent of all community police work involves some form of interaction with a person with a mental illness. From a police perspective these encounters are not only frequent but also often sensitive and challenging. Despite the difficulties associated with this important aspect of community policing surprisingly scant attention has been given to the development of empirically tested and established best practice approaches to managing police interactions with persons with mental illnesses. The literature that does exist is principally derived from North American sources although more recent and interesting developments have been reported in Australia and the United Kingdom. The principal aim of Police Responses to People with Mental Illnesses is to seek to reduce this gap in the literature by providing an international overview of some of the latest research and policy developments in the field, and the challenges still to be confronted in many places in overcoming cultural and associated barriers to protecting the rights of the mentally ill. This book was originally published as a special issue of Police Practice and Research: An International Journal.




The Wicked Problems of Police Reform in Canada


Book Description

This book looks at police reform in Canada, arguing that no significant and sustainable reform can occur until steps are taken to answer the question of 'What exactly do we want police to do?' Adding challenge to this is that setting boundaries on what we expect the police to do requires grappling with the complex social problems we ask them to resolve. In public policy language, these are ‘wicked problems’ – social or cultural issues frequently seen as intractable. Authors Huey, Ferguson, and Schulenberg, all policing scholars, draw on a unique collection of data to explore these issues: over 20 years of research (2000– 2021) ranging from in-depth interviews, surveys, and field observations to document analysis and systematic social observation. Pooling this data generates a national-level picture of changes in the policing operational environment over these decades. This book focuses on four particular wicked problems (mental health, substance misuse, homelessness, missing persons) with causes and potential preventative treatments that lie primarily outside the criminal justice system and yet continue to be treated as 'policing problems.' Bringing about changes in public policing requires changes in public policy, and these are precisely the types of wicked problems that need innovative policy solutions. This book is suitable for a wide range of audiences within and outside Canada, including law enforcement and community leaders; scholars and policy experts who specialize in policing; students of criminal justice, organizations, and management; and citizen-consumers of information about policing.




Mental Disorder in Canada


Book Description

Canada has long been recognized as a leader in the field of psychiatric epidemiology, the study of the factors affecting mental health in populations. However, there has never been a book dedicated to the study of mental disorder at a population level in Canada. This collection of essays by leading scholars in the discipline uses data from the country's first national survey of mental disorder, the Canadian Community Health Survey of 2005, to fill that gap. Mental Disorder in Canada explores the history of psychiatric epidemiology, evaluates methodological issues, and analyzes the prevalence of several significant mental disorders in the population. The collection also includes essays on stigma, mental disorder and the criminal justice system, and mental health among women, children, workers, and other demographic groups. Focusing specifically on Canadian scholarship, yet wide-reaching in scope, Mental Disorder in Canada is an important contribution to the dissemination and advancement of knowledge on psychiatric epidemiology.




Policing and Mental Health


Book Description

This book explores the relationship between policing and mental health. Police services around the world are innovating at pace in order to develop solutions to the problems presented, and popular models are being shared internationally. Nevertheless, disparities and perceptions of unfairness remain commonplace. Innovations remain poorly funded and largely unproven. Drawing together the insights of eminent academics in the UK, the US, Australia and South Africa, the edited collection evaluates the condition of mental health and policing as an interlocked policy area, uncovering and addressing a number of key issues which are shaping police responses to mental health. Due to a relative lack of academic texts pertaining to developments in England and Wales, the volume contains a distinct section on relevant policies and practices. It also includes sections on US and Australian approaches, focusing on Crisis Intervention Teams (CITs), Mental Health Intervention Teams (MHITs), stressors and innovations from Boston in the US to Queensland in Australia. Written in a clear and direct style, this book will appeal to students and scholars in policing, criminology, sociology, mental health, cultural studies, social theory and those interested in learning about the condition and trajectory of police responses to mental health.




A Report on Mental Illnesses in Canada


Book Description

This report is designed to raise the profile of mental illness in Canada among government & non-governmental organizations and the industry, education, workplace, & academic sectors. It describes major mental illnesses and outlines their incidence & prevalence, causation, impact, stigma, and prevention & treatment. Data presented are based on currently available provincial studies & data on mortality and hospitalizations. Five mental illnesses have been selected for inclusion in the report by virtue of their high prevalence rates or because of the magnitude of their health, social, & economic impact: mood disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and eating disorders. While not in itself a mental illness, suicidal behaviour is also included since it is highly correlated with mental illness and raises many similar issues. The appendix includes information on data sources and a call for action on building consensus for a national action plan on mental illness & mental health.




Community Mental Health in Canada


Book Description

In Canada, at least 5 percent of the population suffers from a serious, persistent mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. While recent years have seen many changes and improvements in the way we respond to the needs of mentally ill persons, there remain divisions of opinion among stakeholder groups about the way mental health services are delivered. Community Mental Health in Canada offers a timely, critical overview of the provision of public mental health services in Canada, looking at where we have come from, the current situation, and where we may be heading. Concise, yet comprehensive, coverage includes: the prevalence and impact of mental illness in Canada the complementary and conflicting interests of stakeholder groups, such as mental health professionals, clients, families, government, and drug companies current and developing initiatives in treatment, rehabilitation, housing, and criminal justice programs the clinical benefits and costs of particular interventions, among them pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioural treatments the recovery model diversity and cultural competence the legal and ethical basis of mental health practice, particularly as it applies to the use of coercion and involuntary treatment Community Mental Health in Canada fills a gap in the literature in its analysis of both clinical mental health practice as well as the structural context within which it is situated. An indispensable resource for students, practitioners, and policymakers, it also is essential reading for all those interested in how services are provided to our most vulnerable citizens.