Via Carly White/ SERCC
Cathy* arrived at the Southeast Regional Crisis Center (SERCC) after her family urged her to seek help. Cathy struggled with severe depression and her symptoms had become overwhelming. She could no longer manage her medications, finding herself unable to get out of bed, and was neglecting basic needs like personal hygiene and eating. Her family had become increasingly worried and hoped that SERCC could help her.
“Cathy had a family at home,” said Carly White, Operations Manager for Nexus Family Healing, “…so for a lot of people in that situation, it can be scary and hard to ask for help…they are thinking ‘who is going to take care of my family or the home while I’m gone’, it’s the fear of the unknown that can creep in…being a parent adds in that layer of uncertainty”.
Like many people facing a mental health crisis, she was reluctant to seek support. Asking for help can be frightening, especially when you’re unsure what will happen or who will take care of your responsibilities at home. Despite progress in mental health awareness, stigma around mental health care still lingers. Many people believe crisis services are only for those experiencing suicidal thoughts, and because she didn’t see herself that way, she questioned whether she “qualified” for help. “Some folks hear the term “mental health crisis” and think that a crisis means having thoughts of suicide,” said Carly, “this belief can cause someone to think crisis services, like those offered at SERCC, aren’t for them which isn’t true. Being in a crisis can look different for everybody. When one’s mental health starts to impact a person’s quality of life and activities of daily living, that is a sign to seek help. People might experience feeling numb and/or hopeless and these are also signs to seek help. A person doesn’t need to wait for the crisis to turn into a full crisis before they seek help.”
Taking the First Step
With her family’s encouragement, Cathy took the difficult step of coming to SERCC, though she did so with hesitation and a strong desire to return home immediately. When she arrived, it was clear she was in crisis. She was exhausted, overwhelmed, and afraid. Her first instinct was to leave, and she voiced that desire throughout her stay.
“Cathy was really reluctant to be here” said Carly, “she really wanted to just be home with her family…her family was incredibly loving and supportive and kind, gently encouraged her to stay since she was unable to manage herself in her home.”
To help persuade her to give SERCC a try, the team worked to give her choices, ensuring she felt in control, and approaching every interaction with gentleness and respect. Staff used motivational interviewing, a conversational, collaborative, non-judgmental, trauma-informed approach to working with someone and helping them take the right steps towards positive change.
“Motivational interviewing helps clients identify a goal….Cathy’s main goal was to go home, so staff would work with her and prompt her for decisions she could make to accomplish that goal by breaking it down into small, manageable tasks for her…It’s a way of having a conversation where you are helping that person to take the right steps towards reaching their goals.”
Through these techniques, Cathy agreed to stay for one night at SERCC.
“The team was able to take small steps with her…. they were able to get her to take a shower and eat a meal…nursing worked with her to get her back on her medication regime,” said Carly.
By the next morning, Cathy was engaging with her surroundings, even attending a group therapy session, even when feelings of discouragement resurfaced. Midday, she again expressed a desire to leave, and staff honored her autonomy while helping her develop a safety plan so she wouldn’t have to face her struggles alone once she returned home.
Creating a Safety Plan
“Though she only stayed with us one night, we were also able to create a safety plan for her when she went home,” said Carly, “…and we let her know that we were here if she needed us in the future…Cathy was able to make a large amount of progress in less than 24 hours get back on track.”
For many clients at SERCC, even one day can provide can offer peace, quiet, and a pause from the outside world. This helps them to regain a sense of footing, allows them a chance to focus solely on themselves for the first time in a long while, with support along the way, in the hopes that they can take the first brave steps towards healing.
This experience was a meaningful win not only for the client but also for the team at SERCC. Providing mental health care can be emotionally complex, and progress is not always visible. When clients are discouraged, withdrawn, or eager to leave, like Cathy, staff can question whether they’re making a difference.
“This was a celebration for the staff here,” said Carly, “Cathy was adamant in how she didn’t want to be there, which was hard for staff – we could see that she needed help, but how do we help her see that. Our team learned that they have the critical ability to meet clients where they are at…you can see the light for them and encourage them to it, and these clients trust you…this was still a huge win.”
But through their experience with Cathy, the team saw clearly how their persistence, empathy, and trauma‑informed skills helped someone take steps she could not have taken the day before. Getting her to eat, shower, and restart medications, was a powerful reminder that even small progress is still progress.
“At the end of the day, I go back to the reason why people reach out to us – you don’t have to do this alone,” said Carly, “if you are struggling so much to the point that you need support, that you need somebody to help you, even just to take a shower or get back on your medication routine, even just to get you over the hump or validate what you are experiencing, all of that matters. I really want to celebrate people who take the brave first step of asking for help.”
*Names and details have been changed to protect privacy.