There are situations where the standard process — calling the pediatrician for an appointment, looking for a therapist, waiting to see how things develop — is not the right response. This is about recognizing those situations.
Go to the emergency room or call 911 when:
Your child has harmed themselves and needs medical attention.
Your child has expressed a specific plan to end their life and you believe they may act on it.
Your child is in a psychiatric crisis that you cannot safely manage at home.
Your child’s behavior poses a danger to themselves or others right now.
Call 988 when:
Your child has expressed thoughts of suicide or self-harm and you need help figuring out next steps.
You are scared and do not know what to do.
You need guidance from someone trained in crisis response before deciding whether the ER is the right step.
Contact the pediatrician urgently when:
Your child has disclosed self-harm that is not requiring emergency medical attention but needs immediate evaluation.
Your child has expressed suicidal thoughts and you need professional assessment today, not in two weeks.
You have been observing serious mental health symptoms that have escalated and need urgent attention.
What to say when you call
You say: “My child has expressed thoughts of harming themselves / has hurt themselves / I believe they are in a mental health crisis and I need urgent help.”
You do not need more than that to get an immediate response. The professional will take it from there.
The most important thing
Children’s mental health crises are treatable. Children recover. The decision to get immediate help is not the beginning of something permanent and terrible — it is often the beginning of the road to getting better.
Act now. Get the help. You are doing the right thing.