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    Dealing with a crisis

    Basic guidelines

    Here are some basic guidelines to help you handle a mental health crisis. In the next section you will find more comprehensive guidelines on averting, preparing for and dealing with a crisis.

    Your goals in a mental health crisis are to

    • Stabilise the situation
    • Get the person to professional help as quickly as possible

    A mental health emergency is a life-threatening situation in which a person

    • Is in danger of causing immediate harm to themselves or others
    • Is severely disoriented or out of touch with reality, or
    • Is otherwise out of control

    Hospital admission will be needed if

    • Not going to hospital means the person or others would be at risk of harm
    • The person needs intensive support which cannot be given at home
    • The person needs to have an assessment which cannot be done outside of hospital

    It is important for you to

    • Understand that the person may be confused, distressed and frightened
    • Empathise and connect with their feelings
    • Try to get the person to a state of calm where they will accept help

    Tips for calming the situation

    • Speak in a calm and reassuring manner. Avoid overreacting
    • Listen carefully and express support and concern. Remember the person in front of you is ill
    • Avoid making prolonged eye contact. This can cause further agitation
    • Keep stimulus low
    • Move slowly and avoid sudden moves. Don’t touch the individual unless you ask for and are given permission
    • Be patient
    • Offer support and options, not demands and orders
    • Don’t try to argue or reason with the individual. They are not in a state of mind that supports rational thought
    • If the situation escalates or you feel you are in danger at any time, leave the location immediately

    Call for help

    • Use your list of emergency contacts
    • Call for appropriate help

    More on navigating a crisis

    A person with schizophrenia is very likely to experience a crisis from time to time. It is very important to be prepared, as a family, before this happens, so that everyone knows what to do. Making a crisis plan together with your relative while they are well is an excellent way of getting ready. One of many useful resources is NAMI’s guide to navigating a mental health crisis.

    Navigating a mental health crisis
    National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2018, 30 pages

    NAMI is the largest grassroots mental health organisation in the USA and a reputable source of user-friendly information. This guide aims to support people experiencing a mental health emergency, as well as their families and friends. It outlines what can contribute to a mental health crisis, describes the warning signs that a crisis is emerging, advises what to do when the crisis involves the risk of suicide, provides strategies to help de-escalate a crisis, and concludes with a valuable section on preventing a crisis, together with sample forms and a sample crisis plan.

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