Our Mental Health Navigators have access to the same resources as our other hotline counsellors, but they can arrange to follow-up with you. Having your initial call with the navigators and arranging a follow-up with them allows them to become more familiar with your needs, and helps them prepare the follow-up with you.
When a navigator follows up with you, they check in on your well-being and can offer emotional support. Additionally, they will review with you what resources you tried contacting, and whether or not you were successful in getting the help you need. In the event you are not successful, they can discuss with you resources you maybe did not receive in your first call or other viable solutions.
The navigators can talk to you about psychiatrists, therapists, psychologists, and support groups. There are differences in mental health professionals, and these differences are not always clear. They also can help compare and contrast different types of psychological care and their aims, such as inpatient versus outpatient, therapeutic approaches like DBT and CBT, etc.. This is the kind of information that the navigator team can review with you in a follow up. They are also able to filter providers by insurances accepted, sliding scale fees, the need to manage prescription medications, and other factors that may be important when looking for resources.
Our staff understands the limitations of mental health resources in the community. Long waiting lists, professionals who don’t return phone calls, and trouble with insurance makes getting help even more difficult. They are able to talk to you about these concerns as well.
