Sometimes distress grows beyond what can safely wait for the next therapy appointment. You may feel frightened by your thoughts, unsure whether you can keep yourself safe, overwhelmed by what is happening around you, or concerned about someone you love.
When that happens, please reach for support that is available right now.
Storm Haven Does Not Provide 24/7 Emergency or Crisis Services
Storm Haven Counseling & Wellness is an outpatient psychotherapy practice. We do not provide 24-hour crisis intervention, psychiatric emergency services, after-hours emergency coverage, or continuous monitoring.
Your therapist may not be immediately available between appointments, after business hours, on weekends, during holidays, while with other clients, or when they are away from the office. Messages sent by phone, voicemail, email, text, SimplePractice, or another communication method should not be used for psychiatric emergencies or situations requiring an immediate response.
If you are experiencing a psychiatric emergency or are concerned that you may not be able to remain safe, do not wait for your Storm Haven therapist to respond. Please use one of the immediate crisis resources below.
When There Is Immediate Danger
If you believe you may seriously harm yourself or someone else, have already taken action to harm yourself, have experienced an overdose or potentially dangerous medication ingestion, are experiencing a medical emergency, or there is another immediate threat to someone’s physical safety:
Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.
If possible, ask a trusted person to stay with you or help you get to emergency care rather than remaining alone.
Call or Text 988 for Mental Health Crisis Support
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides crisis support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the United States.
Call or text: 988
You can also access online chat through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline website.
You do not have to be actively suicidal to contact 988. The service supports people experiencing suicidal thoughts as well as other forms of significant emotional or behavioral health distress. A crisis counselor can listen, help assess immediate safety needs, provide emotional support, and help identify appropriate local resources. (988 Lifeline)
In California, 988 is supported by a network of local crisis centers serving all 58 counties. Crisis counselors may also help connect callers with appropriate community or county behavioral-health resources when available. (California Health Care Services)
When Should I Reach Out?
You do not need to perfectly determine whether something “counts” as a crisis before asking for help.
Consider reaching out for immediate crisis support if you are experiencing suicidal thoughts that are becoming difficult to manage, urges or plans to harm yourself or another person, rapidly escalating emotional distress, an inability to feel confident that you can remain safe, severe disorientation or changes in your ability to care for yourself safely, or another mental health situation that feels too urgent to wait for your next therapy appointment.
You may also contact 988 when you are worried about someone else and need help determining what to do next. (SAMHSA)
If You Have a Safety Plan
If you and your therapist have created a Safety Plan, this is a good time to use it.
A Safety Plan is not simply a document created during therapy and then forgotten somewhere between old intake paperwork and appointment reminders. It is meant to become a familiar path to follow when distress makes it difficult to think clearly.
Begin with the steps you and your therapist identified together. These may include recognizing your warning signs, using grounding or coping strategies that have helped before, contacting trusted people, moving into a safer environment, creating distance from anything you could use to hurt yourself, and reaching out for professional crisis support when additional help is needed.
If your Safety Plan tells you to contact 988, seek emergency care, or call 911 based upon the level of risk you are experiencing, please follow that plan rather than waiting for your therapist to become available.
988 or 911?
Both systems provide important emergency support, but they serve somewhat different purposes.
988 specializes in behavioral health crises and provides crisis counseling, emotional support, de-escalation, suicide prevention, and connection with behavioral-health resources.
911 is designed for emergencies involving an immediate threat to physical safety or situations requiring emergency medical services, police, or fire response. (SAMHSA)
If you are unsure where to begin and you are experiencing a mental health or suicidal crisis, you may contact 988 for help assessing what support you need.
If someone is in immediate physical danger or requires emergency medical attention, call 911.
What If It Is Urgent, but Not an Emergency?
Not every difficult moment is a psychiatric emergency. Sometimes something happens between sessions that feels important, destabilizing, or deserving of support, but you are able to remain safe while waiting for your therapist.
In those circumstances, you are welcome to contact your therapist through the communication method you have established together or contact Storm Haven regarding scheduling.
Please remember that outpatient therapists are often in sessions throughout the day and may not see or respond to messages immediately. Contacting your therapist does not create emergency or on-call coverage.
If the situation changes while you are waiting and you begin to feel unable to remain safe, please shift from waiting for your therapist to using the crisis resources above.
You Do Not Have to Decide Whether You Are “In Enough Crisis”
People sometimes hesitate to seek crisis support because another part of them is busy arguing that things are not that bad, someone else probably needs the service more, or perhaps they should simply hold everything together until their next appointment.
You do not need to win that internal argument before reaching out.
If you are frightened by what is happening inside you, uncertain about your safety, or struggling to determine what kind of help you need, you can ask for support. Reaching for additional care during a crisis does not replace your ongoing therapeutic relationship. It allows you to access a different level of support during a moment when your outpatient therapist may not be available.
Your work with your Storm Haven therapist can continue afterward, including making space to understand what happened, what helped, what was missing, and whether your Safety Plan or ongoing treatment needs to change.
Immediate Crisis Resources
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988
Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (SAMHSA)
Immediate danger or medical emergency
Call 911 or go to your nearest emergency department.
Current Storm Haven clients: Once the immediate crisis has been addressed and you are safe, please let your therapist know what occurred so that it can be incorporated into your ongoing care.
This page is provided for informational and crisis-resource purposes and is not a substitute for emergency medical or psychiatric evaluation. Storm Haven Counseling & Wellness is an outpatient psychotherapy practice and does not provide 24/7 crisis or emergency services.
Additional Crisis Resources
Sometimes a crisis is connected to circumstances that benefit from more specialized support. The resources below are available in addition to 988 and emergency services.
These resources do not replace 911 when there is immediate danger or 988 when you are experiencing a mental health or suicidal crisis. You may use them even if your therapist is unavailable, out of the office, on vacation, or has not yet responded to your message. You do not need permission from your therapist or Storm Haven to seek crisis or emergency care.
Veterans Crisis Line
The Veterans Crisis Line provides 24/7 confidential crisis support for Veterans, service members, National Guard and Reserve members, and those who support them. You do not need to be enrolled in VA benefits or health care to use this service.
Call 988, then press 1
Text 838255
Online chat and additional information are available through the Veterans Crisis Line.
LGBTQ+ Young People
The Trevor Project provides 24/7 crisis support for LGBTQ+ young people.
Call 1-866-488-7386
Text START to 678-678
Online chat and additional support are also available through The Trevor Project.
Domestic Violence & Relationship Safety
The National Domestic Violence Hotline provides confidential support for people experiencing domestic violence, relationship abuse, or concerns about their safety.
Call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
Text START to 88788
Online chat is also available. If someone may be monitoring your phone, computer, browsing history, or other devices, consider whether it is safe to access these resources from your current device.
Sexual Assault Support
The RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline provides confidential support and resources for people affected by sexual assault.
Call 800-656-HOPE (4673)
Online chat and additional resources are available through RAINN.
Mental Health & Substance Use Treatment Resources
The SAMHSA National Helpline provides information and treatment referrals for individuals and families experiencing mental health or substance-use concerns.
Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357)
This resource is particularly helpful when you are looking for treatment options or additional services. For an immediate mental health or suicidal crisis, call or text 988 instead.
Riverside County Behavioral Health Crisis Resources
For clients located in Riverside County, Riverside University Health System Behavioral Health provides local behavioral health and crisis services.
Because available programs, locations, and crisis services may change, please visit the Riverside University Health System Behavioral Health website for current information and local resources.
Remember: You Can Seek Help Without Waiting for Your Therapist
Your Storm Haven therapist may be an important part of your support system, but they do not need to be the doorway through which you access emergency care.
If something changes between sessions and you become concerned about your ability to remain safe, do not wait for your therapist to respond before seeking help. Contact 988, call 911 when there is immediate danger, go to the nearest emergency department, or use an appropriate crisis resource above.
Once the immediate crisis has passed and you are safe, you can reconnect with your therapist. Together, you can make space for what happened, consider what helped, and determine whether your Safety Plan or ongoing treatment needs additional support.