Crisis Resources

October 9, 2023 Katrina Boots

We all – our clients and ourselves included – are trying to navigate through uncertain times. Sometimes, as wellness practitioners, there can be internal and external voices that tell us we should have all the answers, or even that we shouldn’t be struggling. It can also be easy to forget to take care of ourselves in the midst of working with clients. Remember, there is no shame in asking for help and no one has all the answers. We can only continue to try our best to support ourselves and each other.

We’ve put together the list of crisis tips, actions, and resources below, and we welcome you to use these yourself and with your clients. Also, feel free to download the pdf below for easier access to share directly with your students or to keep it on hand for yourself.

Disclaimer: All content and information shared here is for informational purposes only and does not intend to substitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Seek Connection

When you are feeling that you may be in crisis, it’s an especially good time to seek support from those closest to you (i.e family and friends). If you are physically cut off from your support systems, consider setting up a routine to digitally check-in with each other.

Action You Can Take:

Take a moment and write down a list of at least 3 people who you identify as supports. These people could be family, friends, coworkers, professionals, neighbors, or others. From this list, pick a couple of people to text or call to see if they are available to check in with you. If they’re not, or if you don’t have anyone that you feel like you can trust right now, check out the resource below.

Resource:

Need connection right now? Warmlines are similar to a hotline, but intended to be used for those who aren’t yet in crisis, and need someone to talk to. They specialize in concerns of people with mental health challenges, and are there for family and friends as well. It is best to call a warmline based in your state, and their hours of operation will vary. Find a U.S. based warmline directory here. If you can’t find a warmline for your location, you can call NAMI Sonoma County at 1-866-960-6264, or text WARMLINE to 1-866-960-6264. They are open from 10am-5pm PT Mon-Fri, and if you leave a message they will get back to you.

Plan Ahead

If you’re dealing with moments of crisis, consider crafting a long-term treatment or intensive treatment plan with your healthcare provider. We recognize that many folks don’t have access to this type of care, and resources are available in the ‘Consider Therapy’ section below. Work with your mental health practitioners to discuss a plan. If it’s safe, notify the people closest to you of the plan and what you’re going through.

Action You Can Take:

If you have a therapist, be sure to bring up your moments of crisis to them, and ask them to work with you to set up a safety plan. Depending on when your next appointment is, consider calling the office to see if you can schedule an earlier appointment to have your problems addressed sooner.

If you don’t have a therapist, investigate one of the search directories or therapy platforms we’ve included farther down on this guide for help in setting up a therapist. Also check out the resource right below.

Resource:

Therapistaid.com has a wide selection of free worksheets and resources to help you process different mental health experiences you may be having. It can be overwhelming at first, though, so let’s start simple: print and fill out this safety plan to help you get a jump start on putting an effective plan into place for yourself.

Create a Self-Care “Toolbox”

It could be helpful to reflect on practices that have helped ground you in the past and create a “toolbox” of coping mechanisms. Are there self-soothing techniques you could practice? Would it help to talk to a friend? It may be helpful to try a coping technique even if you believe it may not work. Try one and observe how you feel afterwards.

Action You Can Take:

Find an old shoebox, plastic container, or even Tupperware. Now cut or tear a piece of paper into strips. On each piece of paper, write a different self-care technique, tool, or mechanism. It doesn’t matter whether you find these online, in a book, or come up with them completely on your own. (Psst – our blog editor, Katrina, compiled some ideas here.) You won’t have to try to decide what kind of self-care you’re doing in the moment. All you have to do is recognize that you need some self-care, and then pick one slip of paper from the box. Commit yourself to doing that one activity for the next 15-20 minutes.

Resource:

Stumped? Try out this self-care assessment to help get you started, or read up on some more helpful self-care tips for implementing your skills.

Consider Therapy

If you are experiencing mental health issues and your usual coping strategies are no longer working, consider contacting a psychologist or other licensed mental health provider for help. Ways to find these professionals include:

If you have health insurance, ask your carrier for a list of covered providers in your area.
If you don’t have health insurance or your policy does not offer adequate coverage, consider searching for sliding-scale/ low cost practitioners (see directory below) or consult your local department of health to see if it makes referrals.
Search a directory to find practitioners in your area or practitioners that offer tele-health services.

Sliding Scale Therapy Platforms

Talkspace: www.talkspace.com

BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com/

ReGain: (Relationship Counseling) https://www.regain.us/

Research Tip: Search ‘Your area’ + ‘Sliding Scale Therapy’ or ‘Sliding Scale Counseling’ (depending on your state, counseling may be more affordable).

Therapy Search Directories

Tele-Health Directory: https://www.goodtherapy.org/find-therapist.html

U.S. Therapist Directory: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists

Black Women: https://www.therapyforblackgirls.com

Black Men: https://therapyforblackmen.org/

Multi-Cultural Therapist Directory: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/multicultural

Latinx Therapist Directory: https://www.therapyforlatinx.com/

National Queer & Trans Therapists of Color: https://www.nqttcn.com

Self-Harm or Suicide

***TRIGGER WARNING***

If you have developed a plan to kill yourself, that's an immediate mental health crisis. Please go to a hospital emergency room or call 911. You can also call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

If you're not sure if it's urgent, ask yourself if you have already thought about what method you would use. If you've thought about where, how or when you would take your life, that means you've begun developing a plan.

If you're still hesitating, ask a friend or family member to stay with you while you may be at risk. Call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 as soon as possible. They have trained counselors available to speak with you 24/7 and assist in a crisis situation.

Resources for Abuse

Safety Planning

A safety plan is a set of actions or plans you can put into place to help lower your risk of being hurt by your abuser. It is personalized to you and your situation, and it’s recommended you give a copy to a trusted person in your life. Always remember that you know yourself and your situation best; trust your instincts.

The organization Love is Respect has an interactive safety plan which you can fill out on their website, but note that it is not 100% secure from monitoring or tracking. Be sure that the computer you are using is in a safe and secure location before you begin the process. If you’re not sure if your computer is being monitored, check out this Love is Respect informative PDF about spyware and computer monitoring.

Self-Care

Self-care is a vital part of staying mentally and emotionally safe and prepared, and most importantly, you are deserving of self-care. Self-care for survivors is particularly difficult, and you are not alone. TheHotline.org has a short article about self-care you might find helpful.

Books for Abuse Recovery

The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals that Protect Us From Violence

The Gaslighting Recovery Workbook: Healing From Emotional Abuse

Healing from Hidden Abuse: A Journey Through the Stages of Recovery from Psychological Abuse

Emergency Hotlines:

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 / www.thehotline.org

Senior Abuse Hotline: 1-800-222-8000

National Coalition Of Anti-Violence Programs: 1-212-714-1141 (English And Spanish)

Find a local safety shelter: https://www.domesticshelters.org/

Hotlines & Resources for BIPoC

Blackline Crisis Hotline: 1-800-604-5841 / https://www.callblackline.com/

Racial Equity Support Line: 1-503-575-3764 / www.linesforlife.org/get-help-now/services-and-crisis-lines/racial-equity-support-line/

Multi-cultural therapist directory: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/multicultural

The Asian Mental Health Project: https://asianmentalhealthproject.com/

South Asian Mental Health Alliance: http://samhaa.org/

Black Women: https://www.therapyforblackgirls.com

Black Men: https://therapyforblackmen.org/

Latinx therapist directory: https://www.therapyforlatinx.com/

The Loveland Therapy Fund (providing financial assistance so Black women and girls have access to a comprehensive list of mental health professionals): https://thelovelandfoundation.org/

National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network (NQTTCN): https://www.nqttcn.com/

Joy Harden Bradford, aka Dr. Joy: http://www.hellodrjoy.com/

Rest for Resistance (specially for QTPoC): https://restforresistance.com/read

Brown Girl Therapy (specifically for those from immigrant families, including first-gens, South Asians, and women of color): https://instagram.com/browngirltherapy

Decolonizing Therapy: https://www.instagram.com/decolonizingtherapy/