Crisis assessment and management

Résumé

Crisis calls occur frequently in correctional settings, so much so that they can begin to seem routine. Psychiatrists are regularly called away from scheduled assignments such as diagnostic interviews or medication clinics to respond to a wide array of concerns, including suicide attempts, acute psychosis, seizures, destruction of property, self-injury, smearing of bodily waste, fire setting, flooding, and many others. Requests for urgent intervention with inmates can range from the informal, "Doc, I need you to take a look at Jones ..." to the formal system of color-coded emergency response after violence or suicide attempts. Regardless of the psychiatrist's formal work assignment, handling crises—almost always in conjunction with security staff—is an expected part of the job. This chapter reviews the pragmatics of evaluating and managing many common correctional events that lead to mental health crisis calls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) INTERVENTION-CRISE DÉTENU MILIEU-CARCÉRAL