The CIT Academy is a forty-hour course of instruction that is completed in a one-week session. The instructors include Physicians, Psychologists, Licensed Social Workers, Specialists, and Police Instructors.

The objectives of the CIT Academy are to:

• Increase officers' awareness of mental health issues and empathy of mental health consumers. 
• Instruct officers in effective techniques utilized when encountering mental health consumers. 
• Broaden officers' knowledge of resources and understanding of legal issues.
• Assist officers with providing a safer intervention and most appropriate resolution.

CIT Academy students receive training in:

Clinical disorders, psychotropic medications, personality disorders, substance abuse, co-occurring disorders, commitment laws, liability issues, non-psychiatric conditions, suicide assessment, age related disorders, children's issues, developmental disabilities, voices simulation, community resources, family and consumer perspectives, and intervention strategies.

Officers receive hands-on experience in the CIT Academy through site visits. Officers meet and speak with consumers at various levels of functioning. Officers meet with persons with post traumatic stress disorder, consumers newly committed to a hospital psychiatric unit, forensic patients, and civilly committed patients.

Officers also attend a lunch at a local mental health day treatment unit or clubhouse and have a one-on-one lunch with consumers that live in the community. A high functioning consumer who is in a state of recovery finalizes the end of the week with a presentation.

Additionally, officers participate in scenario-based training. Officers complete several scenarios and receive feedback from mental health professionals and experienced CIT Officers. Each scenario is based on an actual mental health related cases and is conducted outside of the classroom setting to create as realistic a situation as possible.