The intent and purpose of the Behavioral Health Strike Team (BHST) is to quickly deploy trained individuals from a Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) and the Office of Disaster Services (ODS) and establish communications with the impacted region/county/city/facility to determine the level of trauma and develop a strategy to deliver psychological first aid to survivors and first responders. The ODS and the CMHC will form the BHST and develop the most effective way to provide behavioral health support to survivors, responders, and other disaster workers. Additionally, the BHST will work directly with other state agencies to coordinate other state or federal assistance if required.
BHST members receive specialized training on responding to disasters and critical events. During the first year, members are required to take four trainings:
- Psychological First Aid
- Incident Command Systems 100
- Incident Command Systems 200
- National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) basic course.
There-after, members are asked to annually complete two trainings on qualified topics.
If interested in becoming trained for the BHST, please contact Alyssa Backes, Deputy Director of the Office of Disaster Services at tamara.fish@dmh.mo.gov.
- Deployment Information
BHST members deploy to critical events, which may include mass casualty events, natural disasters or other traumatic events. Some past deployments were:
- Branson Duck Boat
- Amtrak Train Derailment
- St. Louis during the COVID-19 Pandemic
- St. Louis Mardi Gras
- Missouri State Fair
- St. Louis Tornado
BHST members will be asked to deploy to the impacted area quickly with the expectation that they leave within two hours of notification. Once there they will follow the incident command structure with the DMH Office of Disaster Services acting as the liaison to the incident commander. Deployments can last from one day to two weeks and in shifts lasting from two hours to twelve hours depending on the event.
- Upcoming Deployments
St Louis Mardi Gras
February 14, 2026FIFA World Cup in KC
June 11, 2026 - July 19, 2026Washington MO Town and Country Fair
August 5, 2026 - August 9, 2026State Fair in Sedalia
August 13, 2026 -August 23, 2026