Call 988 for a Mental Health or Suicide Crisis

Hopefully you’ve already heard of 988, the national free and confidential lifeline for mental health or suicide crises. But even though the line launched in July 2022, many people still aren’t aware of it or its life-saving utility. Let’s review the basics of 988 and how to use it. What is 988? Call the 988 Lifeline toll-free number (988) from anywhere in the United States when you or someone you are concerned about is experiencing a mental health or suicide …

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10 Essential Leadership Qualities in Times of Crisis

When I first wrote this, we were fully in the grip of the 2020 global pandemic. This experience was unlike anything we had encountered before and it greatly impacted all of us in nations, communities, and neighborhoods around the globe. During that time, we saw the responses of our leaders at the national, state, and local levels as we attempted to cope and weather this storm. It was clearly evident that some leaders were much more effective than others. The …

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How to Develop a Safety Plan to Manage a Suicidal Crisis

One commonly used and effective tool to help prevent suicide is a safety plan, also sometimes referred to as a crisis response plan. A safety plan is a written list of coping strategies and sources of support than can be used before or during a mental health crisis in which there may be suicidal thoughts and/or behaviors. Safety plans have been used in clinical practice for some time. Although there are some minor variations in their content and format, a …

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11 Mental Health Crisis Lines You Should Know About

Several different situations can be considered a mental health crisis or emergency. These can include: Who should you call when a mental health crisis occurs? In the moment, your best first option may be to call 911, especially when there is imminent risk of harm and you need quick local aid from first responders such as paramedics and police. But there are several other well-established national hotlines that are set up to assist with mental health crises. Here’s my unofficial …

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15 Principles for Compassionate Mental Health Crisis Response

In a recent post, I covered the ten essential values for responding with compassion to a mental health crisis. These values came from the “Practice Guidelines: Core Elements in Responding to Mental Health Crises,” published by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This time around, let’s do a brief recap of the second half of the guidelines, which outlines 15 key principles for enacting those essential values in our mental health crisis intervention practices. (As I noted before, the …

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Responding with Compassion to a Mental Health Crisis

Having worked for many years as a clinical psychologist in a busy psychiatric hospital, I saw mental health emergencies and crises just about every day. These included a wide variety of challenging situations, including statements or actions related to self-harm or harm to others, and traumatic experiences related to abuse, victimization or other horrific experiences. In addition, drug or alcohol use, psychosis and mania were other contributing factors to many crises, and the situation sometimes became further complicated by work …

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Coping with Disaster: Mental Health Resources

Like you, I’ve been so moved and saddened by the images and stories of the destruction and aftermath of the recent devastating hurricanes in the southern US and in the Caribbean. Perhaps you or a loved one have been directly impacted by these terrifying events and you may be looking for tips and strategies to manage the emotional distress you’re now going through. I’m providing several resources from the American Psychological Association (APA) that may be helpful during this difficult …

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‘First Aid’ for Mental Health Concerns

Most of us are familiar with basic first aid approaches to manage medical situations, or perhaps you’ve even had a first aid course at school or work. But did you know you can now take a special type of first aid course to learn how to better handle mental health concerns and crises? I had heard about “Mental Health First Aid” some time ago, so I was very excited when recently I was able to attend a one-day class in my community. I’d like to …

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