COU 600 Crisis and Trauma Assessment and Treatment

This course provides clinical mental health counseling students with a solid foundation in the theory and treatment of psychiatric crises and emergencies. Fundamentals of trauma and trauma-causing events and their impact upon crisis intervention work will be examined.  The course will examine the differences and similarities of emergencies as opposed to crises.  All aspects of psychiatric emergencies will be examined:  Emergency assessments and interventions, techniques of lethality assessment, risk factors such as substance abuse, violence history, demographic profile, cultural factors and the presence of mental illness. Differential assessment regarding the various aspects and levels of professional mental health response will be reviewed, including the use of Psychological First Aid, suicide prevention, stabilization, and immediate psychiatric crisis response.