Crisis & Support Resources for practitioners

Crisis & Support Resources for practitioners

“Reaching out for support is not a sign of burnout; it is a sign of professional maturity. Using these resources ensures you stay healthy enough to continue the incredible work you do for our clients. There is no ‘heroism’ in struggling alone.” 

Before You Need It: Prepare Your Support Plan

One of the most helpful things we can do for ourselves as practitioners is to identify our support options before we need them.

When we are distressed, overwhelmed, exhausted or dealing with the aftermath of a particularly difficult piece of clinical work, it can be surprisingly difficult to remember who we can contact, where to find the relevant information, or what options are available to us.

Having this information prepared in advance means that we don’t have to make those decisions in the middle of a difficult moment.

Consider creating your own Crisis & Support Resource List and keeping it somewhere that is easy to access — for example, saved securely on your phone, in your professional workspace, or alongside your supervision information.

It might include:

• Your clinical supervisor and an alternative supervisor or trusted colleague.
• Your employer’s HR, wellbeing or occupational health contact.
• Your Employee Assistance Programme and how to access it.
• Your professional body’s advice or ethics service.
• Your professional indemnity insurer.
• Local and national mental health support services.
• Your GP and local urgent mental health support pathway.
• The people you would feel comfortable contacting if you simply needed someone to say, “I’m having a difficult day.”

Keep It Current

A support list is only useful if the information on it is still accurate.

Make a habit of reviewing it periodically — perhaps every three or six months, or whenever there is a significant change in your employment, supervision arrangements, professional registration or personal circumstances.

Check that:

• Telephone numbers and websites are still correct.
• Your supervisor and alternative contacts are up to date.
• You know how to access your EAP and what it provides.
• Your professional membership and insurance details are current.
• You know how to access urgent mental health support in your local area.
• Any workplace procedures or reporting pathways have not changed.

This can also be a useful supervision discussion. Your supervisor doesn’t need to wait until you are struggling to talk about support. Asking, “Who would you contact if this work became too much?” can be part of good professional preparation.

Support Is Part of Safe Practice

Knowing when to seek support is an important part of professional maturity.

We don’t have to wait until we are at breaking point before reaching out. Sometimes support might simply mean a reflective conversation after a particularly difficult session or increasing our supervision support. At other times, it may mean taking a break, accessing occupational health, speaking with our GP, or seeking more specialist support.

The aim isn’t to create a culture where practitioners are expected to cope with everything themselves. It is to create a professional culture where asking for help is normal, accessible and encouraged.

Having a support plan doesn’t mean that we expect a crisis.

It means that if we ever need one, we already know where to turn.
This is a suggested format of resources it will be useful to have in an easy to find location. These resources are confidential and almost all available to you 24/7

Who can I contact early?

Begin here, as not every difficult moment is a crisis. Think about who could you contact before things become a crisis.
Think: Who could I message or speak to if I notice I’m becoming overwhelmed, detached, unusually irritable or struggling to switch off?

From there consider identifying the following:

 1. Internal Employer / Agency Support 

• Clinical Supervisor: [Insert their Name/Phone/Email] 
  Role: For clinical “stuck points,” ethical dilemmas, or immediate debriefing after a difficult session. 

• Secondary/Peer Supervisor: [Insert their Name/Phone] 
  Role: An alternative contact if your primary supervisor is unavailable. 

• HR/Practice Manager: [Insert their Name/Email] 
  Role: For concerns regarding workload, physical safety, or administrative leave. 

2. Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) 

• Provider Name: [for example HealthAssured / Bupa ] 

• 24/7 Helpline: [Insert Phone Number] 

• Website/App Access: [Insert URL and Access Code if it would be required] 

• Services Provided: Usually includes 6–8 sessions of private counselling, legal advice, and financial wellbeing support.
  Note: These sessions are completely confidential and details of which are not reported back to your employer or agency. 

3. Professional Bodies & Legal Support 

• BACP / UKCP / NCPS / BASW / HCPC: [Insert your Membership/Registration Number/s] 

• Ethics Helpline: [Insert Phone Number for your specific professional body/ bodies] 

• Professional Indemnity Insurance: [Insert your provider Name & Policy Number] 

4. Immediate Mental Health Support (UK-Based) 

• The Samaritans: Call 116 123 (Free, 24/7, confidential support). 

• Shout Text Line: Text ‘SHOUT’ to 85258 (For support via text if you aren’t in a place to talk. Although its current service arrangements can vary by area because NHS-funded local crisis text services now operate in some parts of England). 

• Mind Infoline: Call 0300 123 3393 (For information on mental health types and local support). 
   
• Immediate danger or emergency: If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to A&E.
  
• For urgent mental health support in England, you can call NHS 111 and select the mental health option. NHS 111 is available 24/7.

Looking after yourself is not separate from good clinical practice — it is part of it. Knowing when to pause, seek support and use the resources available to you is a sign of professional awareness, not weakness.

By preparing your support network before you need it, you make it easier to reach out when things become difficult. Keep these resources accessible, review them regularly, and remember that you do not have to wait until you are struggling significantly before asking for help.

You spend so much of your professional life supporting others. Make sure you have somewhere to turn when you need support too. You cannot pour from an empty cup — and you should never have to. You are the practitioner, but you are also a person. Your wellbeing matters too.

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