The True Specialty of Mental Health Mobile Crisis

THE MISSION

Frontline Crisis Academy was founded to provide various levels of high quality trainings, ignite passion for mobile crisis work, and raise confidence in all individuals seeking to meet people where they are in a time of crisis and need.

THE OBJECTIVE

Across the country, 988 is here, and states are rapidly adopting new legislation. Civilian response teams are being dispatched in place of law enforcement in many cities, and mental health workers are being embedded in law enforcement, EMS, or fire departments for a co-response to calls. Whether a crisis worker is going to a scene alone, with a mental health partner, or in a co-response fashion with EMS, fire, or law enforcement, training for these mental health crisis “first responders” is scarce. For success to be fully witnessed, crisis workers require new skills and training not taught in graduate programs. Knowing how to safely, skillfully, and confidently work alone on a scene or alongside other first responder partners is not innate. The pressing need is to be efficient and effective, to keep emergency room and jail transports low and safety high as we work to meet people where they are.

THE SOLUTION

Mobile crisis and co-response teams are forming at a rapid rate, and there is extreme competition for crisis professionals. Over the next decade, the demand for these staff will drastically increase. Crisis workers possess a different fire within and choose a courageous path that many in mental health will not walk. However, there is a desperate need for training so they do not enter the field unskilled without knowledge and keen awareness. Core techniques for responding on scene are vital. Efficiency - learning to work skillfully, think critically, and use local resources to avoid transport. Safety - learning to stay alert, manage surroundings, and know when a situation is not safe. Most of all, build Confidence and pride in the specialty of crisis work in the area of behavioral health. Burnout in this field is high, but if essential crisis skills can be learned and confidence instilled, perhaps burnout can decrease, and the workforce can strengthen.

About the founder

Michelle Muething, LPC, LMHC

As long as I can remember, I have been curious about human behavior. In 1999, I received my graduate degree in Clinical Psychology from Western Carolina University. My first position was as a crisis responder in South Carolina. The work was energizing and an instant fit.

In 2001, I took a job as a crisis clinician in Indianapolis. With amazing mentors, law enforcement and EMS guidance, and a team I loved, I found my calling ~crisis work ~working in the trenches! During the day, I'd teach classes at Indiana University/IUPUI and, in the evening, work on the crisis team. These two roles allowed for teaching, continual learning, professional growth, and perfecting the skills needed to be effective in crisis work. Working daily with EMS and law enforcement, I met my husband, tenured paramedic, police officer, and tactical medic on the Indianapolis SWAT team. Life was full of 911 calls and high adrenaline, and I learned more about the world of first response than I ever imagined.

In December 2009, I relocated to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Here I was asked to join a foundation that was forming a new agency. With crisis as the agency’s focus, I brought my skills to the table. Aspen Hope Center opened June 1, 2010, and I was one of two mobile crisis clinicians on the team. Again, doing crisis work and educating law enforcement, I found myself back with my two passions. In 2013, I proudly accepted the position of Executive Director and worked locally and around the state consulting and helping to set up other mobile crisis and co-response teams.

With 25 years in the field, I have seen little in the way of true, in-person training for crisis workers from individuals who have actually done the frontline work. Hence, I created a training program and founded Frontline Crisis Academy in the spring of 2021. Thus far, I have trained crisis teams, LEOs, and EMS staff in WA, SC, NY, MA, CO, FL, CT, OR, and VA, and even traveled to Singapore to work with teams there. I also proudly joined the consultant advisory team at the SAMHSA Gains Center's Policy Research Associates providing subject matter expertise to grantees around the US.

I will always be a crisis clinician at heart and will jump to work “in the trenches” and train others to do so with efficiency, confidence, and pride!