Take the next step in your career with Oakton College’s Mental Health and Crisis Response for Public Safety Certificate. This 13-credit program is for public safety professionals such as police officers, security guards, probation officers, and U.S. Marshals. It meets the Illinois police officer training requirements, providing essential skills to respond to mental health crises and support community well-being.
In this program, you’ll learn how to help individuals with mental health or substance use issues avoid the justice system and access community-based treatment services. You will study topics like the neuroscience of addiction, medication-assisted treatments, and effective crisis intervention techniques. What you learn will help you apply deflection and diversion programs, create partnerships to improve public safety, and strengthen community trust. You’ll also focus on reducing implicit bias and enhancing relationships in diverse communities.
There is a growing need for public safety professionals trained in mental health crisis response. Your training will help improve law enforcement’s response to mental health crises and create positive interactions between officers and the community.
With flexible scheduling, this program is ideal for both first-time students and those returning to school. Oakton College offers a flexible environment for advancing your career while balancing your work and life. Enroll today and make a difference in your community by becoming a mental health crisis response leader.
Enrolling at Oakton College can save you thousands of dollars and help you earn more over the course of your career. Our tuition is among the lowest in the region, and we offer many ways to bring your costs down even more.
99 percent of Oakton students graduate without debt.
To help you get there, you can apply for a scholarship, which you don’t have to pay back. We award $12 million in scholarships annually. Financial Aid includes grants, loans, and other forms of financial assistance that can reduce your costs of attending college.
We offer payment options that give you control over how you pay. Pay all at once or spread your payments over the course of the semester.
Learn more about your options for paying for your education
Bakahia Madison, LCPC
Chair and Professor
M.A. Roosevelt University
Psy.D. Illinois School of Professional Psychology
bmadison@oakton.edu
847.635.1845
Office: 2727, Des Plaines
Meet our part time faculty:
Anthony Bertram, LCSW, CADC, CODP
Lecturer
B.C.J. Marian University
M.S.W. Loyola University, Chicago
abertram@oakton.edu
847.635.1910
Office: B206, Skokie
Richard Lyon, M.A., LCPC, CADC, CAMS-II
Lecturer
B.A. Wheaton College
M.A. Wheaton College
rlyon@oakton.edu
847.635.1910
Office: B206, Skokie
Carolyn Ransom-Champion, Ed.D, CADC
Lecturer
B.A. National-Louis University
Ed.D, Argosy University, Chicago
cchampion@oakton.edu
847.635.1910
Office: B206, Skokie
Cathy Willis
Lecturer
B.A. National-Louis University
M.A. Northeastern Illinois University
cwillis@oakton.edu
847.635.1910
Office: B206, Skokie
