What happens when you call a suicide help line? – The Durango Herald

Bills, law enforcement responses, and fear of embarrassment can prevent people in need from calling 988 or Axis care lines.

Editor’s note: This article discusses suicide, which some readers may find offensive. If you or someone you know is at risk of self-harm, call or text 988 or call the Axis Care line at 247-5245..

The text conversation ended in a joke. Specifically, it was a callback to a comment by its initiator about being bothered by a rat in the wall.

My partner, a mental health professional named Andy, asked, “Has your confidence in your own safety increased?” That was it, the woman thought.

Andy wrote: “He seems to have ideas for safety measures, including asking his sister for support after a shower and maybe even yelling a little at the mouse.” “Today, I hope I can help you feel a little more heard. Thank you for reaching out to me. We’re here 24/7, so don’t hesitate to ask us in the future. Please be careful!

And the conversation ended. It lasted about 20 minutes.

At her request, durango herald The 27-year-old woman who initiated the conversation has not been identified. It happened in mid-March and the person on the other end of the phone was at 988, the nation’s suicide and crisis lifeline. This woman expressed her fear of facing serious consequences in her professional life.

Axis Patient Experience Specialist Linda Devore is the first person callers talk to when using the Care Line. She gathers basic information before calling a crisis therapist. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

On the night in question, the Durango resident was having what she called “the textbook definition of suicidal thoughts.” She knew those thoughts were not her own, but the strength of the vortex scared her.

Sitting alone at home early in the evening, she felt the need to express to someone what she was thinking. Number 988 was the place for that.

“What if the police come to my house?” she wondered as she researched resources.

It is unlikely that a call or text to an emergency line will result in a law enforcement response. Molly Rodriguez, director of crisis services at Axis Health System, said some people feel embarrassed because they think they’ll be charged (but aren’t).

All of these concerns can prevent critical resources from being available to those most in need – those who are frightened by the thought of self-harm.

Coroner Jan Smith said seven people took their own lives in La Plata County in 2024.

“I had to tell someone.”

There are several ways people in crisis can contact you. Anyone in the country can call or text 988 and be routed to a nationwide contact center based on their area code.

In Colorado, these calls are routed to the Colorado Crisis Services hotline. Callers in Colorado with out-of-state area codes can call the state hotline directly at (844) 493-8255. National telephone lines are increasingly trying to connect people who call them to services in their state rather than the service associated with their area code.

Axis provides care in western and southwestern Colorado. Rodriguez said patients can call 247-5245 any time.

The 998 crisis line and the Axis care line are not the same.

It is unlikely that a call or text to an emergency line will result in a law enforcement response. Molly Rodriguez, director of crisis services at Axis Health System, said some people think they will be prosecuted (though they are not), but others feel embarrassed. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

“They need to think of[Axis care lines]as an extension of their local resources,” Rodriguez said. “When[someone]thinks, ‘I need to talk to someone right now, and I need someone to support me,’ calling our line is an option. They need something urgently. If so, I think you should call 988 or the state hotline.”

The Axis line isn’t just for people experiencing mental health crises or suicidal thoughts. The caller may be suffering from a variety of issues, including anxiety, sleep disorders, and relationship issues.

In both cases, call takers follow specific training protocols, but there is no single prescribed script for calls.

Stephanie Bush, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Behavioral Health, said in an email that 988 calls are typically terminated at the caller’s discretion, but any number of steps can be taken to reach that conclusion.

“Our goal is to help you reduce stress and feel empowered to make healthy decisions,” Busch said. “You will be asked questions about your safety, your emotions, your social situation, and whether you are having suicidal thoughts. If a trained care professional feels you are at risk, with your consent, , to discuss accessing emergency services and gather additional contact information to ensure your safety.A trained care professional will work with you on a safety plan, if necessary. Create a.”

When someone calls the Axis care line, the call is connected to a patient experience specialist at the front desk, such as Linda Devore.

On either line, the responder asks for basic information such as the caller’s name and zip code.

In rare circumstances, callers to Axis Careline may receive a short stay in an acute care unit in Durango to address their psychiatric care needs. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

Devore routes calls to the appropriate resources, including an on-call team of clinicians. A crisis therapist like Sam Lewarchick will return your call.

In 2023, Axis received 4,004 calls on Careline, with an average of 11 calls per day over the previous three years.

The therapist asks both open-ended and closed-ended questions. The former is to explore the caller’s experience, and the latter is to gather information if there is an immediate danger to the caller’s safety.

“This includes the quality and frequency of their thoughts about suicide. If there are people in their current location who can support them, where is that person located?” Rodriguez said. “And of course, if it goes in a direction related to suicide, then you’re working to create harm reduction and restriction of access to something that could potentially be harmful.”

These may be difficult questions, but they’re important questions to answer, according to a Durango woman who texted 988 last month.

“We need to tell them it’s really terrible,” she said. She said: “I can’t call my partner or my brother and tell them all the crazy details that are going on in my head because it’s shocking and it’s hard to say.”

She couldn’t tell those close to her that if she had a gun, she would use it. But she was horrified by the persistence of her thoughts.

“I had to tell someone,” she said.

“My biggest fear”

Neither 988 nor Axis Careline is directly connected to law enforcement dispatch.

For callers in Durango, the worry was whether police would show up at their door.

“That was my biggest fear, because it meant I would lose my job,” she said. “I don’t want to do that again.”

Women have learned through painful experience that in some places, expressing suicidal thoughts can have consequences. A woman who was a teenager in Georgia confessed during a meeting with her therapist that she was contemplating suicide. The meeting ended quickly and she was taken to a police car.

In Colorado, this is an unlikely outcome for a 988 call.

In line with best practices from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, care professionals at Colorado Crisis Services recommend that “if there is an imminent or ongoing risk of self-harm or harm to others, and if the caller/text Contact emergency services only if it is a less invasive plan for the message sender. We can’t work with individuals on safety,” Bush said.

Artwork from clients in Axis Health System’s acute care units adorns the windows of Chris Valdez’s office. Valdez is a nurse manager at Axis Health System. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

In some cases, CCS may contact regional providers such as Axis to deploy mobile crisis response units. Therapists, such as Lewarchick, may meet with callers at their homes or other agreed-upon locations.

Approximately 2% of calls in the state end up in mobile crisis response, and less than 1% are routed to the 911 dispatch system, Busch said.

Unlike 911 dispatch, 988 call centers do not have geolocation capabilities. This means that dispatch will not occur unless the caller discloses their location. It works both ways, Rodriguez said.

“I think there are benefits to anonymity. People feel like, ‘I can call and say anything and no one is tracking me,'” she says. “…And as someone who responds to an emergency call, it’s really difficult not to be able to send help to that person.”

hang up

“Nothing necessarily dictates the end of the conversation,” Bush said of the 988 call. “We will continue to work with individuals until they feel comfortable making healthy decisions.”

Rodriguez said calls to the Axis care line can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 90 minutes. It also fits into the continuum of care available in the community, giving clients a variety of follow-up options. In less serious cases, treatment may be completed over the phone. In extreme cases, the caller may visit a local crisis center and receive short-term psychiatric treatment in an acute care unit.

“They may be provided with the skills and procedures they need to alleviate the pain they are feeling,” Rodriguez said. “There may be an agreement to call back within four hours.”

Artwork from clients who have stayed at Axis Health System Acute Care Units is placed throughout the facility, specifically designed to feel less clinical. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

In rare circumstances, callers to Axis Careline may receive a short stay in an acute care unit in Durango to address their psychiatric care needs. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

When a 27-year-old woman texted 988, the mental health professional on the other end could help her with specific tasks such as calming, distracting activities, and affirmation of her personal strengths. The conversation ended after I helped them create a “safety plan” that included a list. . She now carries a printed version of it in her car.

At the end of the conversation, Andy said he wished the woman had felt more heard. She had it.

In the email to herald After the interview, the woman compared herself to a tree by a river being hit by melancholy waves.

“The compassion, tolerance, and understanding support of crisis responders helps us stay focused and calm,” she wrote. “Because someone listened to my feelings of unbearable suffering, I was able to put down stronger roots. So when the waves come, I can no longer endure how alone I feel living on the river.” I know it will help me stand taller. I know this wave may never stop. But I can last.”

[email protected]

Copy article link