A Mobile Crisis Clinician is a mental health professional who goes to the person experiencing a psychiatric or behavioral health crisis, rather than requiring the person to come to a clinic or emergency department.
What may the mobile crisis clinicians do?
They typically respond to situations involving:
Suicidal thoughts or behavior
Psychosis, paranoia, or severe disorganization
Severe anxiety, panic, or emotional dysregulation
Aggression or escalating behavioral crises
Substance use and abuse related psychiatric crises
Severe depression or mania
People experiencing homelessness or otherwise unable to access traditional services
Family or caregiver crises involving mental illness
Their goal is generally crisis stabilization and the least restrictive appropriate intervention, not automatically hospitalization.
What happens during a mobile crisis response?
A clinician may:
Establish safety and rapport
Conduct a mental status examination
Assess suicide, violence, self neglect, and grave disability risks
Evaluate substance use, medications, medical issues, and environmental factors
Determine whether the situation can be safely managed in the community
Develop a crisis/safety plan
Connect the person with outpatient, substance use, housing, or other services
Coordinate with family, law enforcement, EMS, hospitals, or existing providers when appropriate
Arrange follow up or stabilization services
When legally justified, facilitate an emergency psychiatric evaluation or hospitalization
Who may be a mobile crisis clinician?
Depending on the program and jurisdiction, the team may include:
Licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs)
Marriage and family therapists (LMFTs)
Licensed professional clinical counselors (LPCCs)
Licenced Clinical Psychologists (LPSYD, LPHD)
Psychiatric nurses
Other qualified behavioral health clinicians
Peer support specialists
Case managers
Often, the clinician may work as part of a multidisciplinary mobile crisis team, sometimes alongside a peer specialist or medical professional.
Mobile crisis vs. 988 vs. 911
These are related but different:
| Service | Primary function |
|---|---|
| 988 | Crisis counseling, assessment, support, and connection to resources |
| Mobile Crisis Team | Goes into the community to assess and stabilize a person |
| 911/EMS | Emergency response when there is an immediate medical, safety, or life threatening emergency |
| Emergency Department | Medical/psychiatric evaluation and treatment when a higher level of care is needed |
In California, mobile crisis services may also intersect with 5150 evaluations, but a mobile crisis clinician may or may not automatically place someone on a 5150 simply because the person is experiencing a psychiatric crisis. The statutory criteria and the clinician’s authority/designation matter.
An important distinction
A mobile crisis clinician may essentially a mental health professional bringing crisis intervention to the person, rather than waiting for the person to enter the mental health system voluntarily.
The underlying philosophy is often:
Engage…Assess…Stabilize…Determine the least restrictive safe intervention…Connect to continuing care.
For someone interested in crisis services, 988, 5150/5250, CIT, and forensic mental health, mobile crisis work sits at the intersection of clinical assessment, crisis intervention, risk management, legal/ethical decision making, and community behavioral health.
Shervan K Shahhian
