All too often, when people need mental health support, they enter the system through emergency rooms or in police custody, when instead what they really need is a sympathetic ear or a reassuring visit from a trained mental health care professional.
That could mean a warm hand-off from 911 to our statewide Crisis Line or dispatching our Mobile Crisis Outreach team (MCOT) in response to a call received on our peer-staffed Warm Line. To fill the gaps people currently face when seeking care for mental illness, we work closely with the state of Utah and health care organizations—both public and private.
Together, we coordinate and provide integrated, confidential Community Crisis Intervention and Support Services (CCISS) at no cost to anyone, anytime, anywhere in the communities we serve.
“When you’re in the midst of a crisis, you’re not thinking clearly. With our confidential, integrated crisis services, we help people quickly and easily get the help they need and deserve. We do this by assessing status and needs, providing service, and making referrals as needed, which may include enabling access to the appropriate level of care.â€
David Eldredge, Director of Community Crisis Intervention and Support Services
Right Provider, Right Time, Right Response
A transgender person recently experiencing suicidal thoughts needed help and turned to the SafeUT app, a program that allows people in need to text with a master’s level clinician on their smartphone. Due to previous suicide attempts by the patient, the counselor was unable to assess the patient for safety, so an MCOT was dispatched. The team visited the person and deescalated the situation. They also created a Crisis Response Plan (CRP) with psychoeducation on how the patient could talk with their primary care physician about mental health, including medications and referral to outpatient services.
According to the National Council of Behavioral Health, the ideal crisis system should include “a full continuum of crisis components, including a crisis call center, mobile crisis services, walk-in urgent care, secure crisis center, 23-hour observation, residential crisis services, hospitalization, and intensive crisis outpatient services.â€
HMHI’s holistic approach to mental health covers all of these areas, providing care for everyone in need—from children to adults. And with carefully coordinated care, we’re making an impact. From our SafeUT app and Crisis Line to our MCOT services and psychiatric consult lines, we’re taking care of people where they are, helping physicians diagnose and treat mental illness, and saving lives.
Suicide rates among adult Utah men and women have remained steady or decreased since 2017, with the help of our increasingly integrated and more widely available crisis services.
Source: Utah’s Suicide Prevention Programs suicide death report, 2019
Leading the Way With Coordinated Crisis Services
Getting ahead of the current behavioral health epidemic means taking a comprehensive, statewide approach to crisis services. Hand-in-hand with our partners, we’ve increased behavioral health access for college students. We’ve also expanded the SafeUT app from students to first-line health care workers and the National Guard as well as championed a nationwide 3-digit crisis line.
As the hub of Utah’s crisis services, we continue to deepen our ties across the state in order to provide hope, healing, and connectedness to every person we serve.