How Compassion and Communication Can De-Escalate a Mental Health Crisis?

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]And this young man was high on methamphetamine and he had gotten up on the ladder up to the top of the cell and he was hanging on to >> [music] >> the cylinder and we got called out.

[00:00:14]And it was pouring rain, so it was slippery, it was wet.

[00:00:18]We're trying to look up and see him.

[00:00:20]It's hard to see. It's the middle of the night, rain. And every time we try and talk to him, he he'd start to swing on it more.

[00:00:27]And [music] and and say, "I'm not coming down and I'm going to kill myself." And you know, this went on for like 6 hours.

[00:00:33]>> Oh.

[00:00:35]And one of the things that we noticed was that and if we tried to send the support team up with Blaze to get him down, he'd start again.

[00:00:45]So, we got the family [music] history, had a long history of of methamphetamine addiction. He had a a long history of psychosis.

[00:00:53]And I I really was expecting the worst to happen. And then I started to notice that the more we spoke to him and try and engage, the more agitated he got, the more he would threaten [music] to take his life.

[00:01:07]So, finally I said, "Turn all the lights off and get quiet.

[00:01:14]Be close, but pull back [music] a little bit."

[00:01:16]And so, eventually, about 45 minutes later, >> [music] >> we heard, "Hello.

[00:01:23]Where did you guys go?

[00:01:26]Are you still here?

[00:01:28]I want to come down now."

[00:01:30]And so, [music] again, in pulling back, eventually, we were able to get up there and get him down. So, it was sort of a tricky, difficult situation.