A crisis situation, for example someone suffering the devastating effects of a mental health disability like a drug or alcohol addiction, calls for an intervention directed by professionals who can make sure they accept the treatment they need before it's too late. A Crisis Intervention Team in Tyro is a form of community monitoring which calls upon and utilizes healthcare, law enforcement and other relevant agencies as well as family members to help addicts in crisis. This begins with the training of law enforcement officers, healthcare providers, and other participating team members in the community so they know how to react and effectively work together during such a crisis. There are training programs available to train law enforcement officers and 911 emergency operators for example, which includes 40 hours of training in collaborating with the mental health professionals they will be working with during the crisis intervention, refining verbal de-escalation techniques so that they can address and handle the crisis without it turning into a possibly dangerous or hostile incident, etc.
In many cases, Crisis Intervention Teams are used as a means of jail diversion. Meaning, being able to properly respond to what is really meant to be a health episode and not a crime keeps people having a mental health crisis out of jail and where they should be, in treatment and receiving help. Additionally this keeps people with mental health disorders out of prison where they will not be able to appropriately handle their disorder, such as a substance abuse disorder. Rather than in jail, individuals in crisis can receive behavioral therapies, counseling, medication and other mental health services to rehabilitate them. This not only benefits the person in crisis, but also the entire community because it costs more to incarcerate someone with a mental health disorder in prison than it does to properly treat them in an appropriate mental health program.