Megan examines the structures and practices of mental health crisis response systems, with a focus on how understandings of risk shape crisis intervention and pathways of care.
“My research is driven by a commitment to challenging the ways distress becomes interpreted as risk or danger and supporting crisis response systems that are centred on meaningful care.”
Much of my research over the past several years has focused on alternative crisis response models, a broad and increasingly common term for approaches to crisis response that seek to reduce (or remove) reliance on police. Alternative crisis response is not one universal model. In fact, one of the first things you learn when studying […]
If you read my first blog post in this series, you’ve probably come to realize that when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, police are generally the default responders. This intervention has become so common that it often goes unquestioned. But police did not take on this role because they are uniquely equipped to provide care. So, how did police become the de facto mental health crisis responders? […]
What do I mean by a mental health crisis? It’s a situation where someone’s distress becomes too overwhelming to manage on their own. They require immediate support. What happens next can shape whether they feel supported and connected to care or pushed further away from it. There are other definitions of mental health crisis but that’s what I will mean in this series of blogs. The central role of police […]
