Crisis support that keeps conversations confidential
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline offers free, confidential mental health crisis support and resources 24/7. You can call or text a trained counselor anytime at: 1-800-273-8255 (1-800-273-TALK), or chat through their website.
Nacional de Prevención del Suicidio: 1-888-628-9454. For deaf and hard of hearing TTY Users: Use your preferred relay service or dial 711 then 1-800-273-8255.
Call to Mind is no longer recommending people rely on the Crisis Text Line, after reporting by Politico showed that the nonprofit mental health response service shared user conversation data with its related for-profit company Loris.ai. Call to Mind initially recommended the text line before the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline supported text messaging and the number of people using the service showed a clear demand for counselors who could type back to a mobile device — particularly teens and young adults, who we aim to serve.
We continue to recommend the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK) for suicide prevention and other mental health crisis counseling support. The Lifeline is funded by SAMHSA, the mental health services agency in the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services focused on people with mental illnesses, including substance use disorder. The Lifeline is administered by the nonprofit Vibrant Emotional Health, formerly the Mental Health Association of New York City, and the service assures people that its communications are confidential.
In an email to Call to Mind, Vibrant Emotional Health wrote:
“The privacy and safety of those who contact the Lifeline are paramount. Vibrant does not sell Lifeline user data or use data to sell products.
“Vibrant does partner with university-based researchers for suicide prevention research and evaluations of Lifeline services. All of the research and evaluations are conducted following strict data protocols established by the research institutions. We also share some of our general data and research findings publicly through this page: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/by-the-numbers/.”
The Crisis Text Line data-sharing news echoes privacy and data security concerns raised by experts in Spotlight on Virtual Mental Health Care. In our special program about how the rush to technology during the pandemic is affecting access and quality of care, experts who are shaping how apps and digital tools deliver care are concerned about the lack of regulation to protect people seeking health services.
Call to Mind is also planning a Spotlight program this summer that will explore how services like Crisis Text Line and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can and should work to connect people with the critical care we need.
By July 16, 2022 the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline will also support a three-digit dialing code that will handle calls and texts. Learn more about the 988 service that will act as a mental health alternative to calling 911.