Expert on the criminally insane shares stories of working in LA County’s crisis center

People come to this mental health urgent care center, across from County/USC hospital, with a range of mental health needs. Some need a refill of their psychiatric medications. Others have been placed on involuntary psychiatric holds and can remain here up to 23 hours.

In the second part of our look at how local law enforcement deals with mentally ill individuals, we’re joined by a psychiatrist and former UCLA professor who worked in L.A. County’s crisis center for years.

In the second part of our look at how local law enforcement deals with mentally ill individuals, we’re joined by a psychiatrist and former UCLA professor who worked in L.A. County’s crisis center for years.

Dr. Stephen Seager, who now works with the criminally insane at a California hospital, says interactions between police and individuals in crisis is “reactive,” and that policies (and funding) need to take a proactive approach in handling the population with mental illness - to help prevent harm. Dr. Seager will share his experiences working in this arena and explain how challenging it is to diagnose individuals in crisis.

Guest:

Dr. Stephen Seager, M.D., board-certified psychiatrist, a former assistant professor of psychiatry at UCLA School of Medicine and author most recently of "Behind the Gates of Gomorrah: A Year with the Criminally Insane" (Simon & Schuster, September 2014)