If anyone is in immediate danger (a weapon, an overdose, a medical emergency, or someone who cannot be kept safe right now), call 911.
What a mobile crisis team is
A mobile crisis team is a group of trained mental health professionals, typically social workers and counselors and sometimes a psychiatrist or peer specialist, who come to you. They respond at home, at school, or elsewhere in the community to help calm a situation, assess safety, and plan next steps.
For many families, a mobile crisis visit means a child or adult gets skilled help where they are, without an emergency room visit that may not be needed. When a hospital is the right next step, the team can help make that happen safely.
When to call
You don’t need to be certain it’s a “real” crisis. Mobile crisis services exist for moments like these:
- A child, teen, or adult is talking about suicide or self-harm, but is not in immediate physical danger
- A child’s aggression or out-of-control behavior is escalating and you can’t de-escalate it
- Panic, rage, or distress that isn’t settling, even after your usual strategies
- Confusion, paranoia, or seeing or hearing things that aren’t there
- A crisis involving alcohol or drugs
- You’re frightened for someone and don’t know what to do next
Calling for help isn’t an overreaction. Crisis clinicians would much rather hear from you early than too late.
How to reach help
Anywhere in the U.S.: 988. Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org, to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 24/7. Counselors can help by phone and, where available, connect you to a local mobile crisis team.
Westchester County, NY: Crisis Prevention and Response Team (CPRT), (914) 925-5959. A mobile team of mental health professionals, including social workers, a child and family specialist, and a psychiatrist, that serves anyone in Westchester who is in a psychological crisis or at risk of one. Phone support is available 24/7.
Connecticut: dial 211, press 1 for crisis, then 1 for a child or 2 for an adult. Calling 988 from Connecticut also reaches the state’s crisis center. Connecticut’s Mobile Crisis Intervention Services for youth are free and serve children and teens at home, at school, or in the community, with clinicians typically arriving within about 45 minutes.
Elsewhere: start with 988, or contact your county’s mental health department for its local crisis team.
What happens when you call
A counselor will ask what’s happening and whether anyone is in immediate danger. Many situations can be calmed over the phone. If an in-person response is needed, a team is sent to you. The clinicians will talk with the person in crisis and with family, assess safety, and work out a plan: sometimes staying home with a safety plan and follow-up appointments, sometimes a recommendation for further evaluation.
Prepare before you need it
- Save 988 and your local crisis number in your phone, and your teen’s phone
- Make a written safety plan with your therapist: warning signs, coping steps, and who to call
- Lock up or remove medications, firearms, and other means of self-harm; this is one of the most effective ways to prevent suicide
- Keep a short list handy: current medications, diagnoses, and the names of your child’s therapist and pediatrician
If you or your child is already in therapy
In an urgent situation, contact crisis services first. Dr. Kelly’s voicemail and messages are not monitored for emergencies. Once everyone is safe, let her know what happened so it can inform your work together and the safety plan can be updated.
Dr. Jennifer Kelly is a licensed clinical and school psychologist in Rye, New York. She completed a pre-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School and a post-doctoral fellowship in DBT for adolescents at Brown, and earned her PsyD at Pace University. More about Dr. Kelly
This article is general education, not a substitute for individual evaluation or treatment.