BUTLER TWP — Dealing with crises relating to mental health, substance abuse or trauma is never easy, but agency employees this past week learned new skills to better deal with those situations.

The Southwest Regional Crisis Intervention Team hosted a training at the Butler County Community College Safety Training Facility. Nineteen students, including local and Butler County police, state and county probation officers and county prison correctional officers, participated in the 40 hours of training.

Learning to be non-threatening while maintaining a safe environment takes a lot of finesse and is key in a de-escalating scenario, said Mark Peffer, chief deputy at the county sheriff’s office.

“You encounter all kind of people in a crisis,” Peffer said.

The individuals who represented the Penn Township, Butler Township and Cranberry Township police departments, the county prison and other places have natural talent on the job. This training is meant to enhance that.

“These people come in with a certain skill set,” Peffer said. “We just hone these skills and bring it to the forefront.”

Lectures and role playing made up a large portion of the week, but there were more hands-on lessons, too. Students had the opportunity to talk with family members of those with mental illness and visit the Mental Health Association, the Grapevine Center and Betty Peoples Transitional Care Center in Butler.

“It lessens the stigma” of mental illness, said Kathy McDonnell, director of National Alliance on Mental Illness of Butler County.

McDonnell is among the students who graduated with the crisis intervention certificate on Friday.

“It’s been a very educational class for me,” she said.

The Southwest Regional Crisis Intervention Team covers Butler, Armstrong, Indiana and Westmoreland counties, and has been hosting trainings for four years. The trainings are done about twice a year, rotating to different areas.