DECEMBER 23, 2021 — As the UTSA Police Department prepared for the fall 2021 semester, they anticipated a rise in mental health calls from students, employees and campus visitors. Many factors contributed to this projected increase, including the return to on-campus instruction, ongoing pandemic, quarantine and isolation requirements, and reported increases nationally in anxiety and depression among college students.
As the fall semester now comes to a close, numbers show that this prediction rang true. UTSA PD saw a significant increase in welfare checks due to mental health concerns and the university’s Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) received the highest number of referrals and cases since its inception in 2008.
As Captain Thomas Calucci thought ahead to the fall semester, he had an idea to help support officers. Calucci is a long-standing member of the UTSA Police Department, a founding member of the university’s BIT team, and a few classes away from finishing his Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling as a graduate student at UTSA.
Last summer, Calucci reached out to Thelma Duffey, chair of the UTSA Department of Counseling, to inquire about developing a collaborative training program with counseling faculty to provide crisis training for UTSA PD officers. The response was significant, with both Duffey and five additional professors volunteering to provide training for officers.
“All UTSA PD officers already receive mental health training, but this was an opportunity for advanced training in how to respond to community members in crisis. Our goal was to increase officer competence and confidence with training that they could deploy immediately to assist our community,” said Calucci.
Throughout the fall semester, officers met weekly with counseling faculty Thelma Duffey, Gerald Juhnke, Priscilla Prasath, Heather Trepal, Christopher Leeth, and Stacy Speedlin Gonzalez to learn practical tips for supporting individuals in crisis. Although many calls received by UTSA PD are for individuals experiencing mental health crisis, the university setting also sees students experiencing anxiety over tests or grades, bad breakups or other deteriorating relationships.
“Our jobs are 24/7, and after 5 p.m., we are going to be the ones responding to any calls about individuals in crisis,” said Calucci.
Nearly a dozen officers participated in the weekly trainings, with additional team members viewing recordings of the sessions. Combined, the officers received over 15 hours of instruction, with some officers reporting they would attend the training at 3 p.m. then put the skills into use later that day on an evening shift. Informally called the Mental Health Response Team, officers participating in the training were encouraged to expand their voice, empathy and communication skills as equally important tools required for responding to student concerns.
Looking forward, UTSA PD plans to continue the advanced crisis training for officers, including adding scenario and role-playing training exercises and expanding partnerships to include faculty from the UTSA Psychology Department, members of which already serve on the BIT. The police department is also exploring ways to create meaningful reflection and assessment of the program.
The creation of the Mental Health Response Team is just one of many programs that UTSA PD is engaging in to positively change the culture of policing on campus and build community relationships. Since the start of the fall semester, nearly a dozen officers, dispatchers and public safety officers have attended the 40-hour Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) Mental Health Officer training that certifies them as Mental Health Officers through the State of Texas.
Interim Chief of Police Stephanie Schoenborn said, “UTSA PD plans to include all personnel in this training that might have contact with our community. We will expand our reach in the community by sending all uniformed personnel through this training as it becomes available and schedules allow.”
In March, UTSA will offer the RITE Training Academy for officers and leadership, focused on racial equity and emotional and social intelligence skill-building.
Nationally, colleges and universities are responding to an increased need for mental health services for students. Complimenting the efforts of UTSA PD, the university has expanded UTSA Wellbeing services for students, including partnerships with Wellness 360 and MySSP to provide students with access to quality health and mental health care. These efforts align with UTSA’s commitment to enriching campus wellbeing as the institution works to become a model for student success.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
Learn to use the simple but powerful features of EndNote®, a citation management tool. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn to setup an EndNote library, save references and PDFs, and automatically create and edit a bibliography.
Virtual EventLearn to use Zotero®, a citation manager that can help you store and organize citations you find during your research. Zotero can generate bibliographies in various styles, insert in-text citations and allow you to share sources with collaborators.
Virtual EventOur GSAW Research Symposium begins with lunch and a Poster Presentation Competition. Faculty, staff, and graduate students are welcome to attend and review the exceptional research from UTSA's best and brightest.
Student Union Ballrooms 1 & 2, Main CampusHear from UTSA doctoral candidate in environmental science, Andre Felton, as he discusses best practices to discuss scholarly research in non-academic settings. Our 2023 Three Minute Thesis (3MT) winners will also share their winning presentations.
Student Union Ballrooms 1 & 2, Main CampusJoin this fun event if you want resume and interview resources, a job or internship, a snow cone from Kona Ice and to socialize.
Sombrilla PlazaIn partnership with San Antonio Metro Health, join us for a special lecture series during Public Health week! An esteemed panel will discuss the job market’s impact on public health departments in Texas municipalities.
Retama Auditorium (SU 2.02.02,) Main CampusThe Task Force for the Shaping the Future of Artificial Intelligence, Cyber, Computing, and Data Science at UTSA initiative will hold a virtual Campus Forum to discuss their findings in Phase I (data gathering). UTSA faculty, staff and students will have an opportunity to ask questions and share ideas before the Task Force moves into Phase II.
Virtual EventThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.