What is a crisis support space?

Video transcript

So the crisis support space is an alternative space for people who are presenting to ED with any psychological or mental health distress that don’t require medical treatment. So that can range from having suicidal thoughts, having thoughts of deliberate self-harming, panic attacks, and we are extremely diverse in the presentations that we’ve had and who we cater for.

And what’s great about the space is that it’s peer-led, and so it’s a really non-clinical, warm and opening place for people to kind of come in. Usually, once we’ve introduced ourselves down at ED, we’ll invite you to the space, then bring you up to the space, introduce you to whoever’s in the space, ask you if you’d like a drink, where you would like to sit, where it’d make you feel the most comfortable.

And just engage in conversation that you’re comfortable with engaging with at the time. They may come in crisis or even suicidal, and we’re able to regulate those emotions but also validating what they’re going through because it’s always a rough journey leading to the emergency department.

As a peer worker, we are here to listen, we’re here not to judge, we’re wanting to explore what is happening for the person that has access to service, and by doing that, we’re trying to connect and build a relationship through similar common lived experiences because it’s all part of life, and it’s all normal.

In terms of the clinician’s role, our main role is to kind of triage a person, so helping understand, you know, if the person may need further mental health support at the time of their presentation or perhaps linking them with other support services in community mental health later on. And just giving clinical support to the peer workers as required.