Aspire Indiana Health has launched Connections – Aspire Warm Line, an innovative new way to connect people to behavioral health care and other services during the pandemic, and beyond. It is primarily aimed at folks who are not currently mental health clients at Aspire, or anywhere.
Unlike a traditional hotline for urgent needs, the free warm line phone service is intended for people who are experiencing non-emergency distress or concerns resulting from COVID-19. Research has shown some people are hesitant to call a hotline number because they don’t feel like their challenges are important enough.
Callers may not think they need traditional therapy or be unfamiliar with it, and just want someone to talk to. The staff manning the Connections number, (888) 967-5842, have been trained in Psychological First Aid (PFA) to engage people to tell their story. Unlike formalized debriefing models, PFA is appropriate to all development levels across the lifespan and can be delivered in multiple ways.
Based on these interactions, callers may be referred to Aspire’s call center to set up an appointment or to the 24/7 Crisis Line if needed. Callers may also be referred to other resources or agencies in counties where Aspire does not offer the services they need.
Horstman
“The psychological footprint of a crisis or disaster situation is much larger than the medical footprint,” said Jody Horstman, Aspire Chief Integration Officer. “Just as we have taken steps to ‘flatten the curve’ so hospitals aren’t overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients, we want to be proactive in addressing the ‘second curve’ of behavioral health issues before it overwhelms the capacity to handle it.”
Connections will operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Every kind of distress/anxiety should be recognized as important and receive attention before it develops into an emergency situation.
Learn more at AspireIndiana.org.