Resources

Mental health resources available inside and outside of the United States of America.

Accessing mental health resources (USA)

If you live in the United States of America, start here.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call: 1.800.273.TALK (8255): https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/

Crisis Text Line. Text with a Crisis Counselor, free 24/7 support: https://www.crisistextline.org

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services--Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline: Call: 1.800.662.HELP (4357): https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Support and Education, including support groups and NAMI HelpLine (text, call, chat). Call 1.800.950.NAMI (6264): https://www.nami.org/Support-Education

Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health Emergency Outreach and Triage Division--Field Response Operations. Emergency Mental Health Resources (PET/PERT): https://dmh.lacounty.gov/our-services/countywide-services/eob/

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Therapist Locator: https://aamft.org/Directories/Find_a_Therapist.aspx

American Psychological Association (APA) Psychologist Locator: https://locator.apa.org

Accessing mental health resources (Global)

If you live outside of the United States of America, start here.

Befrienders Worldwide (International Crisis Intervention Ministry). England and Wales and international. Search for a suicide prevention helpline by country. Access to information about suicide and emotional support services: https://www.befrienders.org/

Crisis Text Line (International): Text with a Crisis Counselor, free 24/7 support in the UK, Canada, and Ireland with greater availability as capabilities expand: https://www.crisistextline.org/about-us/where-we-are/

Valeo. South Carolina (USA) and international (online). Organization (formerly known as GRC) providing counseling, psychiatric, and debriefing services online for those located outside of the U.S. and in-person for those in South Carolina. Valeo staff are Christian and many of have experience living and working cross-culturally: https://www.valeo.global

SentWell. Spain. Staff with credentials ranging from pastoral and biblical counseling, spiritual direction/soul care, coaching, marriage and family counseling, and clinical psychology. Organization provides a range of services, including 1-2 week in-person intensives for individuals, families, and teams, and online services. Besides counseling, other services include spiritual direction, healing and intercessory prayer, trauma and family debriefing, TCK Care, leadership, sabbatical, transition, and organizational coaching, and spiritual retreat: https://www.sentwell.org

Le Rucher Ministries. Cessy, France (15-minutes from Geneva, Switzerland airport). Expertise and services in member care, community development, and ethnic reconciliation. Member care services include debriefing, field visits (crisis and trauma debriefs, team interventions), and leadership consulting, among others: https://lerucher.org

Olive Tree Counseling Center. Turkey. Professional, licensed, clinical Christian counseling (children aged 3+, pre-adolescents and adolescents, adults as individuals and couples, families, teams), crisis response/debriefing, webinars and workshops, consulting. Center provides intensive counseling over 2 or more weeks for 2-4 hours/day for those who travel for counseling and limited weekly counseling for local expatriates who live and work in Antalya: https://olivetreecounseling.org

‌Tumaini Counselling Centres. Kenya and Uganda. Organization began as a collaboration between Africa Inland Mission (AIM) and Wycliffe Bible Translators International (WBTI) to provide counseling and other support to mission workers. Staff holds a variety of credentials, including psychiatry. Counseling, preventative care, and conference center: https://tumainicounselling.net

Cornerstone Counseling. Thailand. Majority of professional, licensed staff have lived and worked cross-culturally. Services include individual, marital, family, and trauma counseling, as well as psychiatric consultation and team consultation and mediation: https://www.ccfthailand.org

The Well International. Thailand. Services include clinical counseling, soul care, coaching, and training for cross-cultural workers in Asia. Staff are masters-level trained and maintain proper credentials and professional standards of their passport countries: https://www.thewellintl.org‌

Headington Institute. California (USA) and international: Providing counseling, resilience training, risk psychology, organizational consulting and online training geared for global responders, including aid workers, first responders, and community caregivers: https://www.headington-institute.org‌

Barnabas International. Wisconsin (USA) and international. Providing pastoral care and counseling, Bible teaching, discipleship, training, debriefing, TCK/MK reentry seminars, member care- and ministry-related resources: https://www.barnabas.org

Note: I hope to provide a launching point so that you can access appropriate resources, even if you live and work outside of your passport country. I encourage you to research your available options carefully and to use your best judgment as you decide what would be best for you and your specific needs.