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Callers in crisis

Develop your confidence communication skills to respond safely and appropriately to people experiencing Mental Health crisis across remote support channels.

2 x half days. For your team. Delivered online.

Callers in crisis

 

Course overview:

Administrative staff and those providing telephone support and advice are often the first point of contact for service users. Grounded in best practice, this one day course develops confidence and communication skills to respond safely and appropriately to people experiencing mental health crisis across remote support channels (telephone, text, webchat and video).

 

Aim(s):

To develop confidence and skills to respond to callers in crisis.

 

Objectives:

By the end of the course participants will have had opportunities to:

  • Explore what is meant by ‘crisis’ from a variety of perspectives (person using service, personal, service)
  • Explore what might be underlying someone’s distress at times of mental health crisis
  • Reflect upon the challenging calls that they receive within their individual work settings
  • Explore skills and responses that are supportive when responding to people in crisis on the telephone
  • Consider their own needs within a supportive environment

 

Maximum group size: 12

 

Online course – delivered over Zoom.

Enquire or book in a meeting with us

Your trainer(s)

Sal Ball

Sal Ball is a mental health practitioner with approaching 30 years’ experience of developing and delivering mental health projects and support groups in the voluntary sector.  She has built an expertise in training and developing good practice for volunteers, frontline staff and specialist mental health professionals in supporting individuals in distress, both remotely and in person.

 

Her areas of specific interest are around supporting those in emotionally demanding roles, including peer-led and grassroots projects, to gain resilience, confidence, and satisfaction from the challenging work they undertake. She has worked extensively in the fields of peer support, trauma, personality disorder, and self-harm.  

 

She is currently developing these skills and interests further working as a Nature Connector and Forest Therapy Practitioner.

Ben Howie

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What people say

"Reassuring and confidence building. Nice to cover some key skills to use when dealing with a difficult phone call. Sal did a fantastic job, she is clearly very knowledgeable and has a great way of putting everyone at ease making the learning enjoyable. Thank you!"

Social Prescriber, January 2021

"Really enjoyed it. Course leader was excellent and brought a wealth of expertise and knowledge. Helpful concrete strategies. Made me feel positive about my role and what I can do to help. It felt relaxing, which is amazing given we were using Zoom! Thank you for a great morning."

Clinical Services Administrator, January 2021

"Interactions with other staff members in different job roles helped to gain a wider perspective. I found the course leader's teaching methods and approach fantastic. Great mixture of learning methods and resources."

Clinical Services Administrator, January 2021

"Amazing experience! Professional, helpful and exceeded my expectations. Sal was knowledgeable, compassionate, and very practical in her approach. The skills taught were immediately applicable and helped build confidence in handling high-stress, emotionally charged calls. The training struck a great balance between theory and real-world scenarios. Highly recommend to anyone working with callers in crisis."

Sequoia Administrator, Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, January 2026

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All of our courses can be adapted for your organisation or region. We’ll work with you to design flexible or bespoke responses to meet specific individual and organisation needs.

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