The National Alliance on Mental Illness is providing a week-long training session for the Logan/Champaign Counties Crisis Intervention Team. The training is taking place at the Urbana University Student Center this week.

The first crisis intervention team was established in Memphis in 1998 after the tragic shooting by a police officer of a man with a serious mental illness. This tragedy stimulated a collaboration between police, the Memphis chapter of NAMI, the University of Tennessee Medical School, and the University of Memphis to improve police training and procedures in response to mental illness.

The 40-hour training program includes basic information about mental illnesses and how to recognize them; information about the local mental health system and local laws. It also includes learning first-hand from consumers and family members about their experiences; verbal de-escalation training, and role plays.

The Logan/Champaign Counties Crisis Intervention Team will conclude their seminar with a full day of role playing on Thursday.

For information about the program go to www.nami.org.