Crisis Training Institute Programs

Comprehensive Crisis Management is an eight-hour program designed to give staff the knowledge, skills, and information needed to interact with someone who is in a crisis state. This program will help staff with both verbal and physical crisis intervention.

This program is currently being used in mental health settings, (inpatient and outpatient), substance abuse treatment, schools, nursing homes, group homes, medical facilities, and long-term treatment facilities.

CCM is an eight hour program that includes two components:

The lecture and discussion component focuses on assessment, prevention, and intervention techniques and crisis management skills. The information helps employees to assess whether a potentially dangerous situation is developing and how to prevent a crisis.

A physical demonstration and practice component teaches physical interventions for movement, escape, and emergency safety interventions that are effective and safe for staff and the aggressor. These interventions do not rely on strength or surprise, but instead, participants learn to use natural body movement in effective ways.

CCM Train the Trainer (T4T) is a 40-hour training designed to give trainers the knowledge, skills, and confidence to instruct the CCM training program at their place of employment. 

• Please note: The Physical Escape Techniques and the Emergency Safety Interventions portion of the Comprehensive Crisis Management (CCM) program has been reviewed by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s (UPMC) Sports Medicine program and determined that the techniques/interventions would not cause undue musculoskeletal stress on an individual across the lifespan with normal musculoskeletal and biomechanical function. Additionally, these techniques/interventions, if performed and demonstrated on an individual without musculoskeletal pathology are safe from a musculoskeletal standpoint for both the individual applying the technique, as well as the individual receiving the contact from the techniques/interventions.

The CCM Trainer Re-education Program is a 16-hour training designed to give trainers updated knowledge, skills, and information needed to instruct the CCM training program. The CCM Trainer Re-education Program is required annually for instructors to maintain their instructor certification.

ASIST was developed by “LivingWorks.” ASIST offers a complete model of suicide first-aid intervention that provides a consistent approach to helping from initial contact through follow-up. ASIST has a developed structure with phases and tasks, and uses collaborative intervention processes to ensure active engagement, good contact, collaborative problem solving, risk review, safe planning, and safe plan follow-up.

ASIST is a two-day workshop (presented over two consecutive days) that is designed to enhance caregiver skills related to when to intervene until either the immediate risk of suicide is reduced, or additional resources can be located. ASIST is designed to help caregivers become more willing, ready, and able to help persons at risk. Suicide can be prevented with the help of prepared caregivers. While “CPR” skills may enhance physical first aid, our training in suicide intervention helps develops the skills used in suicide first aid. ASIST is a two-day, intensive, interactive, and practice-dominated course designed to help caregivers recognize risk and learn how to intervene to prevent the immediate risk of suicide.

The CISM: Individual Crisis Intervention and Peer Support and Group Crisis Intervention program is designed to present the core elements of a comprehensive, systematic, and multi-component crisis intervention curriculum. The three-day course prepares participants to understand a wide range of crisis intervention services, including group and individual crisis intervention techniques. Also described in the program is the need for appropriate follow-up services and referrals, when necessary. Considerable evidence gathered to date, strongly supports the multi-component crisis intervention strategy, which is discussed in this course.