Know when to seek more help
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The idea in everyday life
Use severity, duration, worsening, safety, substance use, and daily functioning to choose a professional, urgent, crisis, or emergency response.
Help intensity should rise with risk and impairment; waiting for certainty is not required.
One step at a time.
Use the sample or information you have permission to use. Keep your work as you go. You can pause between steps.
- 1
Review changes in sleep, appetite, mood, anxiety, thinking, substance use, self-care, school, work, relationships, and ability to function.
- 2
Match routine professional care, prompt clinical contact, urgent evaluation, 988 crisis support, and 911 emergency response to clear boundaries from qualified guidance.
- 3
Tell a trusted person when safety or functioning is deteriorating and reduce access to immediate dangers with professional help.
See how it works.
Casey decides that worsening symptoms and missed responsibilities warrant a prompt clinician call rather than another week of waiting.
Did you cover these?
- Your work includes a personal help-level decision card with observable signs, service level, contacts, transport, and trusted-person actions.
- Check this common mistake: Waiting for a label, perfect certainty, or a crisis before contacting a qualified professional about persistent or worsening impairment.
- You can name what requires routine, prompt, crisis, or emergency help and exactly how to access each where you live.
What to finish
A personal help-level decision card with observable signs, service level, contacts, transport, and trusted-person actions.
Watch for this
Waiting for a label, perfect certainty, or a crisis before contacting a qualified professional about persistent or worsening impairment.
How can I tell I understand it?
You can name what requires routine, prompt, crisis, or emergency help and exactly how to access each where you live.
Quick knowledge check
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Answer all 3 questions above and get at least 2 right. You can review the explanations and try again.
Go to the knowledge checkOptional course overview video · same video as Lesson 1
Mental Health Minute: Stress and Anxiety in Adolescents
From National Institute of Mental Health. Watch here or open it on YouTube .
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