The Crisis Industry
How Capitalism, Cops, and Coercion Shape Care Today
Course Description
The rollout of “988,” the new three-digit number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, has been accompanied by an explosion of attention and criticism regarding the state of crisis care today. Although 988 and similar services convey aspirations to reduce police involvement in mental health crisis, it’s important to be curious and critical regarding their implementation. Hotlines are one service in a wide continuum of crisis care available today, with much of it still funneling into emergency rooms and psychiatric hospitals. Living in times of near-constant political and social crisis, we ask: What kind of care is available to individuals and communities today? What does it look like to demand “better” care, and how do we do it?
This session will explore the current state of crisis services, tracing the ways that capitalism, carceral logics, and coercive interventions have created a minefield for people attempting to access care. Faculty will explore how structural abandonment has created crisis in individuals and communities, and the ways the systemic response reifies oppression. After developing an understanding of the inner workings and politics of the crisis industry, participants will learn to navigate the current system and create community support strategies to get their needs met in the current climate, focusing on healing justice.
What you’ll learn:
The different parts of the crisis care continuum and how they operate, and the reason people have such disparate experiences with crisis care
How 988 and how federal legislation is changing (and not changing) the crisis industry
Strategies to protect oneself and clients from cops and coercion while utilizing crisis services
How to support ourselves and community members to avoid and survive crisis using community support and healing justice strategies
Faculty
Jess Stohlmann-Rainey, mad, fat, queer, feminist, care and death worker
Jess (she/her) is a mad, fat, queer, feminist, care and death worker. She has focused her career on creating pathways to intersectional, justice-based, emotional support for marginalized communities; most notably working across the full continuum of suicide support services from prevention to crisis and postvention and teaching in the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Professional Psychology. She has particular interest in talking/thinking/collaborating about epistemology, capitalism, and ethics in the context of suicidology, mad studies, crisis care, and death work. Jess centers her lived expertise as an ex-patient, voice-hearer, and suicide attempt survivor in her work. She collaborates on a podcast called Suicide ‘n’ Stuff with Dese’Rae Stage from Live Through This. She held the Lived Experience seat on Colorado’s Suicide Prevention Commission from 2018-2021.
Kelechi Ubozoh, Nigerian-American writer and mental health consultant
Kelechi is a Nigerian-American writer and mental health consultant with over a decade of experience working in the California mental health system in the areas of research and advocacy, community engagement, suicide prevention, and peer support. Her story of surviving a suicide attempt is featured in The S Word documentary, O, The Oprah Magazine and CBS This Morning with Gayle King. She has spent the last two years facilitating healing-centered spaces for BIPOC employees. Her book with LD Green, We’ve Been Too Patient: Voices from Radical Mental Health, elevates marginalized voices of lived experience who have endured psychiatric mistreatment is featured in the curriculum at Boston University. More at kelechiubozoh.com.
“I appreciated the lived experience and expertise of both instructors. My favorite parts were the incorporation of harder facts and knowledge like historical timelines and research data, critique/analysis on the gaps, and biases/inaccuracies in the data and its real-world interpretation and application. It was also great to get an in-depth look at 988.”
What You Get
16 videos (2+ hours of content) full of history, research, and unique perspectives
Exclusive readings and resources
Discussion with a creative community of professionals and advocates inside the course
A reference and resource list to aid ongoing learning and exploration on the course topics
Audience
This course is for:
Mental health and physical health professionals, including: clinicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, peer specialists, recovery support specialists, housing specialists, nurse practitioners, wellness support workers, coaches, holistic practitioners
Students
Activists
Family members and advocates
Anyone who works or plans to work with people experiencing mental health-related challenges
“I loved the information and the flow of the class – going from colonialism and capitalism in the crisis industry, to how that translates for folks on a regular basis, to how we can create/birth/grow different practices of collective care.”
Take the Class
This self-paced course is hosted on Mighty Networks, home to IDHA's School for Transformative Mental Health. This virtual community space supports sustained learning, engagement with other students, access to supplemental resources, and opportunities to interact with your faculty.
We provide the option of enrolling for at the general ($20) or supporter rate ($40) to ensure the sustainability of IDHA’s work and enable us to create more accessible, cutting-edge training content.
CLICK THE BUTTONS BELOW TO JOIN US ON MIGHTY NETWORKS!
If you already have an account, simply log in to proceed to the course.
If you’re new to IDHA’s Mighty Network, you will be prompted to create an account and then receive access to course content.
FAQ
When does the course start and finish?
This is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course, content, or platform?
We love hearing your feedback on what we can do to improve our efforts to bring transformative mental health to the public! Shoot us an email at contact@idha-nyc.org and let us know your thoughts. If you disagree with any of the perspectives shown in this course - that's great! We encourage differing perspectives, so feel free to leave a comment in the course - so long as your comments remain respectful and you speak from your own point of view.
I am a person struggling with mental health issues/a family member of someone who is struggling. Can I take the course?
Absolutely! Just note that this course is geared towards professionals in the field, and will speak mostly to those working in a formal support role. However, we welcome anyone who wants to join!
Are refunds available?
At this time, all sales are final, we cannot offer refunds after purchase.