It can be frightening when you or a loved one is experiencing a mental health crisis. You may not know what to do or what resources are available. Below are some ideas for navigating that crisis.
updated August 2025
It can be frightening when you or a loved one is experiencing a mental health crisis. You may not know what to do or what resources are available. Below are some ideas for navigating that crisis.
updated August 2025
Need help understanding options for navigating a mental health crisis? Reach out to our Compass Helpline. Compass is available Monday through Friday, 10 am to 6 pm. Call us at 617-704-6264, email us at compass@namimass.org, or schedule a call with us.
If you’ve experienced a mental health crisis in the past, you may want to plan ahead in case a crisis happens again. Planning ahead can help make sure your preferences are known and honored during the crisis, and may also help interrupt things before they get to a crisis level.
A mental health crisis is when someone is experiencing symptoms that make them feel out of control or make it hard for them to care for themselves. It can look different for different people. For example, thinking about suicide, hearing voices, or having unusual thoughts can be part of a mental health crisis for some people, but other people are able to manage these experiences.
You get to decide when what you’re experiencing has reached a crisis level for you.
The information on this page may be helpful to you even if you do not think things have reached a crisis for you, to help you avoid it getting there.
Ask yourself what you need – or don’t need – right now… Is there something you can do to make yourself feel better or distract yourself? Do you need the company of someone else, or would time alone be helpful? Also ask yourself when you last ate or slept. Sometimes we neglect basic needs when we are struggling, and that can worsen what we are experiencing.
Know that self-care looks different for different people, and your self-care needs can change moment to moment. The focus is on you. The only self-care rules you have to follow are:
Check out this list for some ideas and keeping track of your self-care (pdf)!
If you think that you can’t manage this alone, reach out to a friend, family member, or other person you trust for support.
Not sure what to say when you reach out? Here are some ideas:
Peer support can be a great option if you think it would be helpful to talk to someone who has had their own journey with mental health and “gets it.” You can try one-on-one support or a support group. You can find support options here.
If you don’t have someone to reach out to – or think that talking with someone you don’t know would be helpful – you could try a crisis call, text, and chat service. Their operators are trained to provide support and resources to people who are experiencing a crisis. If you are concerned about privacy, you can call using a Voice Over Internet (VOIP) service, or chat while using a virtual private network.
Check out this list of crisis call, text, and chat services (pdf).
You can get support from a community crisis response team, if there’s one in your community. Community crisis response teams are staffed by trained non-police responders. They offer emotional support, resource connection, and more.
Peer-led crisis programs offer short-term support – a few hours to a few days – in a non-clinical, home-like environment and serve as an alternative to clinical treatment options like community crisis stabilization programs and inpatient hospitalization. They are led by peer supporters, people who have experienced mental health symptoms, have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, have received mental health services, or have similar “lived experience.” Some peer-led crisis programs offer mobile support, meaning the support comes to where you are.
Peer-Led Crisis Programs in Massachusetts…
If you’re already getting care from a mental health provider like a therapist or psychiatrist, you may want to reach out to them for more support. Many mental health practices offer urgent care for their patients, either with your provider or another provider in the practice. If you feel like you need more intensive support, your mental health provider can also help you set up that care.
If you need to speak with a mental health provider urgently about what you are experiencing, behavioral health urgent care and Mobile Crisis Intervention teams are available.
Behavioral Health Urgent Care
Behavioral health urgent care can offer you easier access to care, with same-day or next day evaluation and referrals to further treatment.
If you have MassHealth, you can use this list to learn more about behavioral health urgent care and find an urgent care site.
If you have other health insurance, contact your health insurance plan to determine if behavioral health urgent care is a covered service and a list of providers.
Substance Use Urgent Care Clinics
If you need urgent substance-related care, you can try a substance use urgent care clinic.
You can use the Substance Use Helpline for help finding other substance use related and addiction treatment and resources:
Massachusetts Substance Use Helpline
1-800-327-5050
Mobile Crisis Intervention (MCI) teams are based at local Community Behavioral Health Centers (CBHCs) and are staffed by mental health clinicians and peer supporters. They can talk to people who feel they are in or near crisis, and try to help them find the support they need to manage the crisis. This can mean getting short-term support from the MCI team, staying in a crisis stabilization bed, participating in a more intensive program like a Partial Hospitalization program, and being connected to ongoing care. If psychiatric hospitalization is needed, the MCI team can search for an inpatient bed.
MCI services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. You can call the statewide Behavioral Health Helpline to be connected with the MCI team serving your area.
Behavioral Health Helpline
call or text 833-773-2445
chat online at www.masshelpline.com
If you need to speak with someone urgently about what you are experiencing and other options are not available (or your crisis involves a medical emergency), you can go to your local hospital emergency department. While in the emergency department, providers will assess you to determine next steps.
Know that the care options that can be offered in the emergency department are often more limited than what an MCI can offer, and your ability to choose the care that you think will work best for you may be limited.
If the person you are supporting has experienced a mental health crisis in the past, you can encourage them to plan ahead in case a crisis happens again. Planning ahead helps make sure their preferences are honored during the crisis, and can sometimes help interrupt things before they get to a crisis level.
A mental health crisis is when someone is experiencing symptoms that make them feel out of control or prevent them from being able to care for themselves. It can look very different for different people. For example thinking about suicide, hearing voices, or having unusual thoughts can be part of a mental health crisis for some people, but other people are able to manage these experiences. Try to rely on the wisdom of the person you are supporting and how they interpret what they are experiencing.
It’s natural to feel scared or overwhelmed when someone you love is experiencing a mental health crisis. It can be hard to know what to do. Here are some general things to keep in mind…
With the person’s consent, you can offer to help them find the support that will work for them. Here are some potential support options…
Try to avoid calling 9-1-1 if possible, when it is not a medical emergency or there is no danger of immediate harm. If you do decide to call 9-1-1, you can tell the dispatcher that you are calling about someone who is experiencing a mental health crisis.
Self-harm means hurting yourself in an intentional way. It is sometimes called self-injury, self-inflicted violence, or self-mutilation. People use self-harm for many reasons, including:
It can be scary when someone you know uses self-harm. It may be helpful to think about self-harm as an attempt to manage difficult feelings or situations. Self-harm can be an effective coping tool for people, so expecting someone to simply stop using self-harm is often not realistic. Here are some strategies that maybe helpful for the person you are supporting:
Deciding what is helpful for moving past self-harm should always be the decision of the person who is using self-harm.
Some things that generally are not helpful:
People often have a strong reaction to someone else’s self-harm. It can be hard to know what to say or how to say it. When someone you know maybe using self-harm, acknowledging what you noticed in a direct but gentle way and offering your support can be a good place to start. For example, you could say “I noticed your [bandage, scar, wound]. I’m here to talk, if you would like.” If they don’t want to talk, leave it at that. Self-harm is a very personal experience, and some people will not feel comfortable talking about it. Respect that. If they do want to talk, you can ask open-ended questions:
It’s important to think about your own limits and needs while supporting someone else. Make sure you’re taking care of your own basic needs, like eating and sleeping. You may also want to try some self-care activities like:
When you’re supporting someone who uses self-harm, you may feel the need to get your own support. That’s understandable! Do try to use discretion and avoid sharing details that the person you are supporting has shared with you, especially if you are getting support from someone who knows the person.
Having thoughts about suicide is common. For many people that think about suicide, talking about their thoughts can help them move past them. It can be hard to know what to say or do. Here are some ideas…
Some things you can say when someone tells you they are thinking about suicide:
Some things you can offer when someone tells you they are thinking about suicide:
Some things you should try not to do when someone tells you they are thinking about suicide:
Supporting someone who is experiencing a crisis can take a lot of energy. It’s important to also think about your own needs. You can find ideas for self-care above.
You can also try family support. Know that most family support options welcome all family members, partners, friends, and other non-clinical supporters. You can find support options here.