A 60-minute training webinar presented by Library 2.0 and hosted by ALA author and library service, safety, and security expert, Dr. Steve Albrecht and Dr. Gina Simmons Schneider, a San Diego-based licensed psychotherapist.
Library staffers often encounter patrons along a wide-ranging behavioral scale. Some patrons may have a mental health issue that does not outwardly affect their behavior in the library; others may have significant behavioral issues in the library, as they interact with staff and other patrons. This webinar is here to help all library employees provide safe, empathic, non-judgmental service to those patrons who may have a visible mental issue.
The American Psychiatric Association defines mental illnesses as “health conditions involving changes in emotion, thinking or behavior (or a combination of these)…”
Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities.
Serious mental illness is a mental, behavioral or emotional disorder (excluding developmental and substance use disorders) resulting in serious functional impairment, which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities. Examples of serious mental illness include major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Mental illness is common. In a given year:
- nearly one in five (19 percent) U.S. adults experience some form of mental illness;
- one in 24 (4.1 percent) has a serious mental illness;
- one in 12 (8.5 percent) has a diagnosable substance use disorder.
Mental illness is treatable. The vast majority of individuals with mental illness continue to function in their daily lives.
About the Speaker
DR. STEVE ALBRECHT. Since 2000, Dr. Steve Albrecht has trained thousands of library employees in 28+ states, live and online, in service, safety, security, and supervision. His programs are fast, entertaining, and provide tools that can be put to use immediately in the library workspace with all types of patrons. In 2015, the ALA published his book, Library Security: Better Communication, Safer Facilities. He is currently writing the sequel, The Safe Library: Keeping Users, Staff, and Collections Secure, for Rowman & Littlefield. Steve holds a doctoral degree in Business Administration (D.B.A.), an M.A. in Security Management, a B.A. in English, and a B.S. in Psychology. He is board-certified in HR, security management, employee coaching, and threat assessment. He has written 24 books on business, security, and leadership topics. He lives with six dogs, two cats, and three chickens. (Not all in the same room, of course.)
