Did I mess up a crisis situation?
Late night anxiety getting to me. To keep it brief, I had a client rapidly declining and starting to express some vague intent, with a plan and means. They’ve had traumatic inpatient visits so I’m not quick to call 911. I lay out that I really only see two options: let’s call a family member and ask for help or I have to call 911. They chose the former, consented to me being on call with them, and then I stayed in session past the end of our time just chatting until a family member came by. With their verbal consent, I explained briefly what was going on and encouraged the client to provide more details. Family member was extremely supportive and validating and offered supportive measures. The three of us discussed plans moving forward, and how they should help ct remove access to means. And verbally agreed with ct to meet again during our next session with a text update on their status the day before, mostly because our times don’t align so we couldn’t meet sooner.
A part of me is thinking, did I do enough? Should I have been less apprehensive to call 911? I was panicking a LOT.
Edit: really appreciating all the validation, tips, and feedback from everyone, thanks!