We shadow a crisis counselor during an unprecedented mental health crisis.
after two years of decline, all part of what U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has declared the mental health “crisis of our times.”after replacing an old 1-800 number.
, the nonprofit whose staff of 11 counselors operates the 988 line with state funding. “So the interactions have to be taken with the utmost importance, respect and compassion.”Text and chat options make 988 more anonymous and accessible, especially for young people in crisis. But technology has made painful conversations more challenging.
A typical night doesn’t exist in suicide prevention, Szwed said. Chats can last a few seconds or a few hours. Some people just want to talk. Others have a gun and a plan.“I am more than happy to listen,” Szwed writes back, using only his two index fingers in a hybrid hunt and peck. “What would you want to talk about?”“I don’t want to be here anymore,” they write.
Supervisor Tony Ciavolella of the New Jersey 988 suicide and crisis helpline at the CONTACT of Mercer County office in Pennington.The intensity of training alone sometimes scares away prospective counselors, said Dawn Tringali, a 988 counselor and training manager for CONTACT. It’s 10 weeks of role-play scenarios, instructional videos, and mastering active listening techniques and strategies for asking difficult questions with empathy.
“You mentioned not wanting to be here anymore. May I ask, are you referring to suicide when you say that?” he writes to the student.Szwed asks again if they are thinking of killing themselves.Listening and validating is the first phase of crisis response. Then comes risk assessment. Text and chat is informal by nature, but Szwed tries to respond as professionally as possible. He never uses emojis, exclamation points or all-caps. He frequently deletes what he’s written and starts over, scrutinizing every word.And praying the right sentiment gets through.
“Young people’s mental health is in danger,” he said. “I don’t think young people fully understand that those resources are available to them on the magnitude that they need right now.”Another blitz of messages pops up on Szwed’s screen. These days, if a counselor is waiting for more than a few minutes between chats, the crisis line knows it is adequately staffed, said Andrews, the expert from the St. Louis area.Crisis lines typically see an influx of callers around the holidays. They also receive a surge of calls in May and June, the peak of wedding and graduation season.The low hum of a fan was the only sound in the room. He was between chats as the sun set behind him.
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