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Transitioning from intensive crisis care 

If your child is in or leaving intensive mental health care for a serious issue, you probably have a lot of questions. Where will we get care next? How do I keep my kid safe? What resources are available?

The answers to these questions will be different for every family. One thing will remain the same — you’re not alone. Many families have experienced a mental health emergency. There are people ready to help you and resources to support your child.

What you should know when leaving crisis services

When your child has experienced a mental health emergency or other serious issue, the next step is hard for everyone. It’s OK, and even necessary, to ask for help.

It’s important to know that the next step in your care journey may not be your last. If you go to your next level of care and it’s not the right fit for your kid, advocate for them and ask for suggestions for alternatives.

Create a plan with your child’s intensive care team

No one knows your child’s medical needs better than you and the providers who have already cared for them. As you’re preparing to leave emergency or inpatient mental health care, connect with your child’s providers to help determine the best next step.

This could be inpatient mental health treatment, a partial hospitalization program, outpatient mental health care or a different kind of support. What’s most important is that you find a level of care that works best for your child. It will be different for everyone, but if they are leaving emergency or intensive inpatient care for a mental health crisis, they will need support to keep them safe and help them feel like themselves again.

Disposition coordinators, care navigators and social workers are valuable caregivers who commonly work in emergency and inpatient mental health care settings and can help you create a plan for when your child leaves their care. You should receive a post-visit summary from your care team that has resources for your family. If you don’t get a summary like this, ask for one.

Before you leave intensive care, consider taking the following steps:

  • Talk with your child’s therapist about a safety plan for your child. Some questions you may ask are:
    • What are your child’s stressors?
    • Whom do they feel they can turn to?
    • What is your backup plan in case their coping skills fail?
  • Double check your child’s medicine if they are taking any.
  • Make sure you have an appointment scheduled to continue your child’s therapy once you leave the hospital.
  • Ask your child what makes them feel unsafe and limit or remove your child’s exposure to these factors as best you can.
  • Safety proof your home by getting rid of firearms, ammunition, medicines, alcohol, knives, razors and other weapons. If getting rid of these things isn’t an option, make sure to keep them in a secure safe or locked away where your child can’t find them.

Keep crisis lines handy

After your child leaves intensive mental health care, they might find themselves in a mental health crisis again. It doesn’t mean that they or you have done anything wrong. Your child’s mental health journey might not follow a straight path because that’s just the nature of mental health. Try to look for the signs that your child might be approaching crisis and don’t hesitate to call Colorado Crisis Services if your child needs help.

There's no wrong reason to call

Free, confidential, professional help is available 24/7/365 through Colorado Crisis Services.

 

phone.svg1-844-493-8255

 

cta-contact-us-text.svgText "TALK" to 38255

Make a crisis safety plan

Your child will face challenges in their daily life. And with those challenges may come troubling emotions that can cause a mental health crisis. This can happen to any family and having a mental health safety plan or ‘crisis kit’ can make this situation much more manageable for your family.

How to make a safety plan

Give yourself the peace of mind of knowing what to do when your child is experiencing strong emotions or is distressed.

Make a plan with your child

Take care of your own mental health

Having a child in a mental health crisis can create anxiety and stress for parents and caregivers. It’s easy to become so focused on helping your child feel better that you forget to care for yourself. Remember that if you don’t take care of yourself and your mental health, you’ll be less able to help your child.

Take some basic steps to ensure your well-being and consider these ways to protect your mental health:

  • Lean on your support system: Don’t be afraid to ask for help and accept favors to make your life easier.
  • Explore care options for yourself: If applicable, see what mental health care options and resources are available through your health insurance, employer or community programs.
  • Talk to someone: Simply talk to family members, friends and others you trust about what you’re feeling. You don’t have to go through this alone.

Find care and support in your community

Your child’s mental health journey will continue beyond the walls of their intensive care setting. Finding care and resources in your community is an important step in healing. Search our Resource Hub to find care options, helplines, medication management services and other resources. You can also find help with finances, food, housing, transportation and more, should your family need it.

Resources for your mental health journey

If you know what the next step is in your child’s care journey, you can also ready yourself with additional resources to help your child, both inside and outside your home. Below, you’ll find topic-specific hotlines, counseling options and educational resources.

Additional crisis hotlines

If you would like topic- or peer-based support, or if you are concerned about a loved one who may be struggling with issues of addiction, identity, abuse or neglect, help is also available through these hotlines:

Free counseling sessions

Could your child benefit from talking to a therapist? The I Matter Program from the State of Colorado’s Office of Behavioral Health offers six free virtual counseling sessions to all kids in Colorado.

Seeking help for your child is a sign of strength. To access resources and schedule sessions for your child, start by completing the parent survey.

Get started with I Matter

Mental health advice from our experts

Read these articles from providers in our Pediatric Mental Health Institute to better learn how to help your child through crises or difficult emotions.

Mental Health First Aid

Just like first aid skills like CPR, mental health first aid is a toolbox for stabilizing a crisis until professional help arrives. Learn the basics.

Warning signs that your child needs urgent or immediate help

Is this a mental health crisis? Experts in our Pediatric Mental Health Institute explain signs of a mental health crisis in kids and teens with tips for when and how to get help.

How to help children after trauma

Get advice from a child psychologist on how to help your child cope after a traumatic event.

How you can help your child after a crisis

Parents and caregivers can take some basic steps to improve their child’s mental health on a daily basis. Learn some tips from Jessica Hawks, PhD, a clinical child and adolescent psychologist.