There is broad recognition that behavioral health crises have reached epidemic proportion, with drug overdoses and suicides having overtaken traffic accidents as the two leading causes of death among young Americans ages 25-44. The COVID-19 pandemic has further underscored the dramatic need for behavioral health services, including crisis services. Yet very few communities in the United States have a behavioral health crisis system that would be considered excellent, let alone ideal. This presentation is focused on opportunities for transforming our nation’s crisis system.

Learning Objectives

• Identify their role in improving crisis care at the clinical level.
• Recognize statewide trends in improving crisis services to identify gaps in their system and how to make necessary improvements.
• Advocate for community and state-wide changes to implement a 9-8-8 number that will better meet the needs of patients in crisis.
• Educate patients about changes to the crisis system to encourage them to use crisis services and the 9-8-8 number instead of 911 when 9-8-8 is available.

Target Audience

Psychiatrists, Residents/Fellows

Estimated Time to Complete

Estimated Duration: 60 minutes
Begin Date: October 20, 2021
End Date: October 20, 2024

How to Earn Credit

Participants who wish to earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™ or a certificate of participation may do so by completing all sections of the course including the evaluation. After evaluating the program, course participants will be provided with an opportunity to claim hours of participation and print an official CME certificate (physicians) or certificate of participation (non-physicians) showing the completion date and hours earned. 

Continuing Education Credit

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. 

The APA designates this enduring CME activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Faculty and Planner Disclosures

Program Presenters

• Stephanie Le Melle, M.D., Director of Public Psychiatry Education at Columbia University. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.
• Robert Gebbia, CEO of American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.
• Debra Pinals, M.D., Medical Director of Behavioral Health and Forensic Programs for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.
• Keris Myrick, M.B.A., M.S., Co-Director of Mental Health Strategic Impact Initiative (S2i). Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.

Program Planners

• Michelle Dirst, M.A., Director, APA Practice Management and Delivery Systems Policy, Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.
• Alexis Victor, M.S., Manager, APA Practice Management and Systems Delivery Policy, Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.
• Joe Parks, M.D., Vice President and Medical Director, National Council for Mental Wellbeing, Dr. Parks discloses the following relationships: Consultant: Otsuka, Janssen; Employee: National Council for Behavioral Health.

Accessibility for Participants with Disabilities

The American Psychiatric Association is committed to ensuring accessibility of its website to people with disabilities. If you have trouble accessing any of APA’s online resources, please contact us at 202-559-3900 for assistance.

Technical Requirements

This internet-based CME activity is best experienced using any of the following:

• The latest and 2nd latest public versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari
• Internet Explorer 11+

This Web site requires that JavaScript and session cookies be enabled. Certain activities may require additional software to view multimedia, presentation, or printable versions of the content. These activities will be marked as such and will provide links to the required software. That software may be: Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Windows Media Player.

Optimal System Configuration:

• Browser: Google Chrome (latest and 2nd latest version), Safari (latest and 2nd latest version), Internet Explorer 11.0+, Firefox (latest and 2nd latest version), or Microsoft Edge (latest and 2nd latest version)
• Operating System: Windows versions 8.1+, Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) +, Android (latest and 2nd latest version), or iOS/iPad OS (latest and 2nd latest version)
• Internet Connection: 1 Mbps or higher

Minimum Requirements:

• Windows PC: Windows 8.1 or higher; 1 GB (for 32-bit)/2 GB (for 64-bit) or higher RAM; Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content
• Macintosh: Mac OS X 10.5 or higher with latest updates installed; Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor; 512 MB or higher RAM; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content

For assistance: Contact educme@psych.org for questions about this activity | Contact learningcenter@psych.org for technical assistance