2025-2026

Date: 8/25/25 @ 8:45am-1pm (EST) Cost: NA Instructor: Tatia Williams, Psy.D., LPCC-S, Psychologist

CE Credit Hours: 4

Training Description:

Crisis situations can emerge quickly and unpredictably in outpatient settings, requiring professionals to respond with clarity, confidence, and compassion. This skills-based training is designed to equip community mental health professionals and support staff with practical tools to assess risk, respond to acute distress, and promote safety according to best practices. Participants will learn accurate assessment, intervention, and safety planning as well as how to navigate common ethical, legal, and clinical dilemmas with cultural considerations in mind. Through demonstrations, role-play, and real-world case examples, participants will build confidence in managing critical moments and supporting clients through stabilization and recovery.

Goals:

1. Enhance competence in recognizing and responding to behavioral health crises in outpatient settings by building foundational skills in risk assessment, de-escalation techniques, and ethical decision-making.
2. Equip participants with practical tools and protocols—including the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) and collaborative safety planning methods—to effectively assess suicide risk and support client safety and stabilization.

Objectives:

• Identify indicators of client crisis and risk of harm to self or others.

• Demonstrate familiarity with the C-SSRS tool and how to administer it.

• Apply core principles of verbal de-escalation during high-stress situations.

• Navigate common clinical and ethical dilemmas that arise during crisis response.

• Develop safety and follow-up planning appropriate to outpatient settings.

Workshop Outline:

8:45 – 9:00 AM Welcome & Overview

• Trainer introduction and participant check-in
• Review of learning objectives and structure of training
• Brief discussion: “What does ‘crisis’ look like in outpatient settings?”

9:00 – 9:45 AM Foundations of Crisis Response in Community Mental Health

• Defining crisis in an outpatient context
• Overview of common types of crises (suicidal ideation, aggression, psychosis, panic, self-harm, etc.)
• Identifying risk factors and protective factors
• Role of the clinician and support staff during crisis moments: Scope, responsibility, and collaboration

9:45 – 10:45 AM Suicide Risk Assessment & the C-SSRS

• Suicide statistics
• Suicide warning signs
• Assessing suicide risk & introduction to the SAFE-T & Columbia Protocols
• Documentation considerations

10:45 – 11:00 AM Break

11:00 – 11:45 AM  Building Safety and Continuity of Care

• Elements of a solid safety plan (Stanley-Brown)
• Reducing Access to Lethal Means
• Safety Planning Apps

11:45 – 12:35 PM Responding to Aggression and Violence Risk

• Early warning signs of escalation
• Starting with self-check and remaining calm
• De-escalation tips & BLAST technique
• Agency Procedures for verbally threatening, active shooter, and stabbing/weapons revealed situations as well as medical emergencies 
• Managing homicidal ideation

12:35 – 12:50 PM Additional Considerations

• Common ethical dilemmas during crisis
• Crisis follow-up responsibilities

12:50 – 1:00 PM Key Takeaways, Quiz, and Training Evaluation

Level: Foundational

Mid-Ohio Psychological Services, Inc. has been approved as a CE provider by the Ohio Psychological Association (#311358292), the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage & Family Therapist Board (RCS060502), and as a NBCC ACEP^TM No. 7265.