Psychiatric Crisis Assessment Support Team (P-CAST)
What is P-CAST?
The Psychiatric Crisis Assessment Support Team (P-CAST) is a mobile crisis team that
responds to mental health emergencies that occur on-campus. Trained clinicians co-respond
to the location of the crisis along with University Police Officers and conduct an
assessment to determine the best course of action.
What services does P-CAST provide?
- Crisis screening & assessment
- Crisis intervention & stabilization
- Safety planning
- Coordinate care with local hospitals and crisis stabilization units
- Case management
- Brief therapy
- Consultation for faculty and staff regarding concerning or disturbing student behavior
- Presentations/training on topics such as de-escalation and crisis resources
What kind of situations can P-CAST respond to?
- Grief
- Feeling hopeless or helpless
- Substance use or abuse
- Thoughts of suicide or self-harm
- Not sleeping or eating for many days
- Unusual thoughts, sounds, or visions
- Extreme energy or no energy
* P-CAST can not respond to: any situation involving a weapon/violence, domestic violence, medical emergencies, individuals who are unhoused but are not experiencing a psychiatric crisis.
In addition to P-CAST services, UPD has partnered with the County of San Diego’s Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT) to offer a multi-tiered approach to behavioral health crisis response. MCRT is a county-wide service that deploys behavioral health experts to emergency calls instead of law enforcement, when appropriate. MCRT is available 24/7, 365 days a year expanding UPD’s resources for crisis response.Additional Resources
Contact P-CAST
For mental health emergencies, request P-CAST by calling 911.
For non-emergencies, email P-CAST at [email protected].
