Crisis Hotline Numbers and Resources Master Post

November 8, 2019July 14, 2022 Cassandra Stout

Nearly 20% of American adults–up to 44 million–struggle with mental illness annually, including conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, substance abuse, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety, eating disorders, and a whole host of other issues. And sometimes, people end up in a

A picture of a wireless phone with blue overtones. Credit to flickr.com user Synwell. Used with permission under a Creative Commons license.

mental health crisis, which is any situation where a person’s mood and behaviors impair functioning to the point where he or she can no longer care for himself or herself or perform his or her role in the community at large. This crisis can lead them to hurt himself or herself or others, so it needs to be addressed.

If you or a loved one are in a metal health crisis and need to talk to someone immediately, pick up the phone. You can call a crisis hotline and talk to a line operator who will be able to connect you with resources to tackle your current challenge. Hotlines are available to you whether you have insurance or not, and they are private. Some crisis lines won’t even appear on a phone bill, ensuring the confidentiality of the caller. Thoroughly-trained hotline operators will be able connect you with treatment providers in your area.

What Should I Ask the Hotline Operator?

Calling a mental health hotline doesn’t have to be intimidating. Hotline operators have a wealth of information to answer your questions about your issues Consider asking some of these questions:

How do I get diagnosed? (For a post covering this topic from the Bipolar Parent, click here.)
Are there special techniques will work better for me, based on my diagnosis?
What happens if I have more than one condition?
How are metal health conditions treated?
What treatments are available in my area?
How do I know which type of doctor to see? (For a post covering this topic from the Bipolar Parent, click here.)
How long will I have to be in treatment?
Will I have to take medications, and can I ever stop taking them?
What is my next step?

If you are calling a hotline because you are concerned about a loved one, your questions may include:

How can I talk to my loved one about his or her diagnosis without upsetting him or her?
How can I help his or her recovery?
How do I know if his or her diagnosis is correct?
How do I get my loved one diagnosed?
What treatments are available in my area for my loved one, based on his or her diagnosis?
How can I encourage him or her to seek treatment?
What should I do in a crisis?
How do I ensure healthy boundaries while still caring for my loved one?

Mental Health Crisis Lines

If you need a warmline, which is a line run by volunteer peers who will listen to you vent your troubles confidentially before you hit a crisis, please see the previous post on the Bipolar Parent.

In any crisis, if you are in immediate danger, call 911. Make sure to let the operator know that you are in a psychiatric crisis and ask for officers trained in crisis intervention.

If you are looking for support, resources, and knowledge from an highly-trained hotline operator, call one of these nationwide crisis hotlines:

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): (800) 950-6264. NAMI’s hotline’s hours of operation are weekdays from 10am to 6pm EST. Hotline operators can provide resources for support groups, legal support, and treatment centers, as well as information about mental illness.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): (800) 662-4357. SAMHSA operates a 24-hour mental health hotline. They provide connections to treatment, education, and support for mental health crises. They also run an online Behaviorial Treatment Locator to help you find treatment centers.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): (866) 615-6464. NIMH also runs a live chat option, just in case you didn’t want to call. The telephone hotline and the chat are available Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 5pm EST.
Mental Health America Hotline: Text MHA to 741741. MHA provides support through texts. You’ll be connected to an operator who can give you support through crises or just information.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: (800) 273-8255. This 24-hour Lifeline also provides a live chat. If you live in the state of New Jersey, you can press 988 to be connected to the line.
Crisis Text Line: Text CONNECT to 741741. You can also text NAMI to 741741. If you are in Canada, you can text HOME to 686868. If in the UK, text HOME to 85258. These are free, 24-hour crisis hotlines. These messages do not appear on a phone bill.
Veterans Crisis Line: (800) 273-8255. Press 1 to be connected to the Veterans’ Prevention Line. Text a message to 838255. Operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, this hotline offers help to military veterans and can connect them with the VA in their area.
National Domestic Violence Hotline: (800) 799-SAFE (7233), (800) 787-3224 (TTY), (800) 942-6908 (Spanish).
This 24/7 Trained operators are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to victims of domestic violence. Spanish and other languages are supported.
National Sexual Assault Hotline: (800) 656-HOPE (4673). A sexual assault service provider in your area will provide you with a variety of free resources. 24/7.
ChildHelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline: (800) 4-A-CHILD (800-422-4453) or (800)2-A-CHILD (800-222-4453, TDD for hearing impaired). Multilingual ChildHelp operators can refer you to social services offering counseling for child abuse, as well as offer brief counseling over the phone. 24/7.
Boys Town Crisis and Suicide Hotline: (800) 448-3000 or (800) 448-1833 (TDD). Boys Town operators are trained to counsel you through parent-child conflicts, marital issues, pregnancy, suicide, runaways, and abuse. 24/7.
Covenant House Hotline: (800) 999-9999
This crisis line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for teens and adolescents, as well as their families. Topics covered range from drugs and homelessness to abuse and runaway children.
Domestic Violence Hotline: (800) 829-1122.
STAND Against Domestic Violence Crisis Hotline: (888) 215-5555.
SafeQuest Crisis Line: (866) 487-7233 (4UR-SAFE). This 24-hour crisis line counsels victims of violence or sexual abuse. The line is nationwide, but California residents may receive state-certified emergency shelter support.
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders (ANAD): (847) 831-3438 (long distance).
Elder Abuse Hotline: (800) 252-8966.
Alzheimer’s Association Hotline: (800) 621-0379. Available Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 4pm EST.
Center for Disease Control (CDC) National Prevention Information Network: (800) 458-5231. Operators are available Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm EST, to answer question about HIV and AIDS.
National Sexually Transmitted Disease Hotline: (800) 227-8922. Available Monday-Friday, 8am to 11pm EST, to answer questions and provide referrals to free and low-cost clinics in your area.
Parent Hotline: (800) 840-6537. Parent Hotline is dedicated to helping parents in crisis. They offer a questionnaire to determine if a child is need of intervention.
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222.
Poison Control for any kind of substance: (800) 662-9886.
Rape and Incest National Network (RAINN) Crisis Hotline: (800) 656-4673.
National Teen Dating Helpline: (866) 331-9474. Operators will counsel teens who have been abused.
Missing Children Network: (800) 235-3535.
Hopeline: (800) SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433).
SOS Teen Hotline: (800) 949-0057.
Grief Recovery Helpline: (800) 445-4808.
National Safe Haven Alliance Crisis Hotline: (888) 510-BABY. If you are pregnant and have questions about how “Safe Surrendered Baby” laws can help you, or if you want to surrender your baby, call this toll-free number 24/7. There are many safe surrender sites around the US where you can safely hand over your baby with no questions asked, such as hospitals, fire stations, or lifeguard stations. If you are in crisis, you and your baby will be protected. Don’t abandon your baby in an unsafe place.
SOS Teen Hotline: (800) 949-0057.
National Youth Crisis Hotline: (800) 448-4663. Available 24/7 to provide short-term counseling and referrals to shelters, therapeutic services, and drug treatment centers. Aids youth dealing with pregnancy, physical and sexual abuse, and suicide.

Final Thoughts

If you or a loved one are suffering from a crisis, especially a mental health crisis, you don’t have to suffer alone. There are resources available to help you. Trained operators are standing by, waiting for your call. Pick up the phone and take the first steps out of despair.

Related:

bipolar parent

American Crisis Hotline Numbers and Resources Master Post

November 8, 2019 Cassandra Stout2 Comments

What Should I Ask the Hotline Operator?

Calling a mental health hotline doesn’t have to be intimidating. Hotline operators have a wealth of information to answer your questions about your issues Consider asking some of these questions:

How do I get diagnosed? (For a post covering this topic from the Bipolar Parent, click here.)
Are there special techniques will work better for me, based on my diagnosis?
What happens if I have more than one condition?
How are metal health conditions treated?
What treatments are available in my area?
How do I know which type of doctor to see? (For a post covering this topic from the Bipolar Parent, click here.)
How long will I have to be in treatment?
Will I have to take medications, and can I ever stop taking them?
What is my next step?

If you are calling a hotline because you are concerned about a loved one, your questions may include:

How can I talk to my loved one about his or her diagnosis without upsetting him or her?
How can I help his or her recovery?
How do I know if his or her diagnosis is correct?
How do I get my loved one diagnosed?
What treatments are available in my area for my loved one, based on his or her diagnosis?
How can I encourage him or her to seek treatment?
What should I do in a crisis?
How do I ensure healthy boundaries while still caring for my loved one?

Mental Health Crisis Lines

If you need a warmline, which is a line run by volunteer peers who will listen to you vent your troubles confidentially before you hit a crisis, please see the previous post on the Bipolar Parent.

In any crisis, if you are in immediate danger, call 911. Make sure to let the operator know that you are in a psychiatric crisis and ask for officers trained in crisis intervention.

If you are looking for support, resources, and knowledge from an highly-trained hotline operator, call one of these nationwide crisis hotlines:

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): (800) 950-6264. NAMI’s hotline’s hours of operation are weekdays from 10am to 6pm EST. Hotline operators can provide resources for support groups, legal support, and treatment centers, as well as information about mental illness.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): (800) 662-4357. SAMHSA operates a 24-hour mental health hotline. They provide connections to treatment, education, and support for mental health crises. They also run an online Behaviorial Treatment Locator to help you find treatment centers.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): (866) 615-6464. NIMH also runs a live chat option, just in case you didn’t want to call. The telephone hotline and the chat are available Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 5pm EST.
Mental Health America Hotline: Text MHA to 741741. MHA provides support through texts. You’ll be connected to an operator who can give you support through crises or just information.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: (800) 273-8255. This 24-hour Lifeline also provides a live chat.
Crisis Text Line: Text CONNECT to 741741. You can also text NAMI to 741741. If you are in Canada, you can text HOME to 686868. If in the UK, text HOME to 85258. These are free, 24-hour crisis hotlines. These messages do not appear on a phone bill.
Veterans Crisis Line: (800) 273-8255. Text a message to 838255. Operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, this hotline offers help to military veterans and can connect them with the VA in their area.
National Domestic Violence Hotline: (800) 799-SAFE (7233), (800) 787-3224 (TTY), (800) 942-6908 (Spanish).
This 24/7 Trained operators are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to victims of domestic violence. Spanish and other languages are supported.
National Sexual Assault Hotline: (800) 656-HOPE (4673). A sexual assault service provider in your area will provide you with a variety of free resources. 24/7.
ChildHelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline: (800) 4-A-CHILD (800-422-4453) or (800)2-A-CHILD (800-222-4453, TDD for hearing impaired). Multilingual ChildHelp operators can refer you to social services offering counseling for child abuse, as well as offer brief counseling over the phone. 24/7.
Boys Town Crisis and Suicide Hotline: (800) 448-3000 or (800) 448-1833 (TDD). Boys Town operators are trained to counsel you through parent-child conflicts, marital issues, pregnancy, suicide, runaways, and abuse. 24/7.
Covenant House Hotline: (800) 999-9999
This crisis line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for teens and adolescents, as well as their families. Topics covered range from drugs and homelessness to abuse and runaway children.
Domestic Violence Hotline: (800) 829-1122.
STAND Against Domestic Violence Crisis Hotline: (888) 215-5555.
SafeQuest Crisis Line: (866) 487-7233 (4UR-SAFE). This 24-hour crisis line counsels victims of violence or sexual abuse. The line is nationwide, but California residents may receive state-certified emergency shelter support.
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders (ANAD): (847) 831-3438 (long distance).
Elder Abuse Hotline: (800) 252-8966.
Alzheimer’s Association Hotline: (800) 621-0379. Available Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 4pm EST.
Center for Disease Control (CDC) National Prevention Information Network: (800) 458-5231. Operators are available Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm EST, to answer question about HIV and AIDS.
National Sexually Transmitted Disease Hotline: (800) 227-8922. Available Monday-Friday, 8am to 11pm EST, to answer questions and provide referrals to free and low-cost clinics in your area.
Parent Hotline: (800) 840-6537. Parent Hotline is dedicated to helping parents in crisis. They offer a questionnaire to determine if a child is need of intervention.
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222.
Poison Control for any kind of substance: (800) 662-9886.
Rape and Incest National Network (RAINN) Crisis Hotline: (800) 656-4673.
National Teen Dating Helpline: (866) 331-9474. Operators will counsel teens who have been abused.
Missing Children Network: (800) 235-3535.
Hopeline: (800) SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433).
SOS Teen Hotline: (800) 949-0057.
Grief Recovery Helpline: (800) 445-4808.
National Safe Haven Alliance Crisis Hotline: (888) 510-BABY. If you are pregnant and have questions about how “Safe Surrendered Baby” laws can help you, or if you want to surrender your baby, call this toll-free number 24/7. There are many safe surrender sites around the US where you can safely hand over your baby with no questions asked, such as hospitals, fire stations, or lifeguard stations. If you are in crisis, you and your baby will be protected. Don’t abandon your baby in an unsafe place.
SOS Teen Hotline: (800) 949-0057.
National Youth Crisis Hotline: (800) 448-4663. Available 24/7 to provide short-term counseling and referrals to shelters, therapeutic services, and drug treatment centers. Aids youth dealing with pregnancy, physical and sexual abuse, and suicide.

Final Thoughts

Related:

bipolar parent

Book Review: Breakdown: A Clinician’s Experience in a Broken System of Emergency Psychiatry

May 3, 2019April 17, 2019 Cassandra Stout2 Comments

The front cover of Breakdown: A Clinician’s Experience in a Broken System of Emergency Psychiatry (affiliate link*), by Lynn Nanos, featuring a police car shining its headlights on a sleeping homeless person wearing a green hoodie. Credit: Lynn Nanos.

*Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Thanks for supporting the work at The Bipolar Parent!

America’s mental health system is broken. It has failed millions of people suffering from mental illness and will continue to do so unless sweeping changes are made. That’s the premise of Lynn Nanos’ Breakdown: A Clinician’s Experience in a Broken System of Emergency Psychiatry (affiliate link*).

I was offered a copy by the author in exchange for an honest review, which after reading the book, I am thrilled to provide. Nanos is a clinician in the field of emergency psychiatry in Massachusetts with over twenty years of experience in the field. She is uniquely qualified to write this book, having spent much of her life caring for the sickest of the sick.

According to Nanos, there are three core problems in the broken psychiatric system: a lack of inpatient beds due to deinstitutionalization; malingerers, who falsify claims of mental illness to request inpatient treatment; and that patients are “dying with their rights on.” The latter means that a prioritization of patients’ rights causes people suffering from psychosis who refuse treatment due to a lack of insight into their mental illness to be discharged from hospitals too early. These patients are often homeless and vulnerable to being attacked on the streets. Nanos’ solution to these problems is to promote a program called Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT), a court-ordered program which forces patients suffering from psychosis to comply with treatment when living in the community.

Nanos describes a condition called ansognosia, where patients have a lack of insight into their mental illness. This book has special significance for me because I have bipolar and have endured psychosis, like the patients in the many case studies Nanos covers in Breakdown. When I suffered a psychotic break, I had no insight into my mental illness, like many of the patients suffering psychosis that Nanos describes. I was fortunate in that, as I complied with treatment, I gained such insight and was able to take steps towards recovery before I left the hospital. Like Nanos points out, this is not the case with the majority of others.

What Doesn’t Work Well in Breakdown

Because I don’t want to end on a negative note, I’ll start with one item that didn’t work well for me in Breakdown.

Disclaimers: The opening chapter is full of disclaimers about what the book does and does not cover. These disclaimers are vital to understanding how the rest of the book works, but they make for dry reading, especially for a first chapter. However, I don’t know how else Nanos would have structured this. These disclaimers are necessary, and they need to be placed upfront.

That’s it. That’s all I didn’t like. If a reader can get past the tedious first chapter, the meat of Breakdown is brilliant.

What Does Work Well in Breakdown

As promised, here’s what does work well in Breakdown:

Fulfilled Promise: In the opening chapter, Nanos promises a solution to the issues she raises later on, and she delivers on this promise. The writing is accurate and engaging, with case studies of patients offering an emotional look into people who suffer psychosis and their mental illnesses. The book is a blend of clinical information and painfully personal writing, which is another part of what Nanos promises and delivers.
Research-Backed Opinions: Nanos’ commitment to scientific research is admirable. She cites approximately 300 studies, and the last chapters of Breakdown are especially filled with mental health statistics, which back up her claims.
Professional Formatting: Despite being self-published, Breakdown is professionally formatted. The cover, featuring a presumably homeless man being confronted by police while lying on a sidewalk, is well-drawn and fabulous. Not that I’m saying to judge a book by its cover, but Breakdown is visually pleasing inside and out.
Case Studies: The most arresting parts of Breakdown are the case studies. Nanos demonstrates why psychotic patients need treatment through the examination of her encounters with them in a clinical setting. Some examples are: a woman who traveled from Maine to Massachusetts because a spirit called “Crystal” ordered her to, a man who smeared dead insects on his neighbors’ doors to help purify toxins in their apartments, and Lily, a woman who delivered dead dogs to strangers, among other stories. Most of these people refused adequate treatment due to ansognosia. A great number of them bolted before Nanos was able to arrange for transportation to hospitals. Some of them were violent, and a few went on to assault their loved ones, with two specific cases ending in death. The case studies are the most effective parts of Breakdown, and demonstrate why the AOT program is so important.

Final Thoughts

Breakdown: A Clinician’s Experience in a Broken System of Emergency Psychiatry (affiliate link*) is a fascinating book. It’s professionally written and formatted, research based, and effectively delivers its message. The case studies were especially enlightening, and are the heart of Breakdown.

Mental health issues affect all of us, whether we suffer from mental illness, have loved ones who do, or are impacted by the mentally ill people all around us. Read this book and see how you, too, can join the mental health discussion.

*Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

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