Crisis Text LineReviews 74

I noticed when I reached out some volunteer are nice and genuine! But of course I get confuse and skeptical because of the reviews saying is bad like it will make you worse if consider reach out to crisis text line! That is true also but depends! Some volunteer they are nice and clear! But some they aren't like ask ask ask only and don't care like what everyone else say! Plus these volunteer don't even care about the reality of how things goes! Honestly this is comfusing and I have no clue if this lifeline is a robotic lifeline or the volunteer counselors are real people! Even so sometimes they no mood ask only and don't even know how to clarify

Every call is the same. First you will be asked what's wrong. You will then upon being given a counselor asked the same thing back to back. If you say you are suicidal, they won't do a single thing about it. They will also ask you again if you are suicidal when you already said you were. Every single conversation they will ask if you have any friends and family to call. If you did, you probably wouldn't have called. They will then ask you what you did in the past that helps, tell you to do that, and hang up. EVERY. SINGLE. CALL. They will occasionally send you remarkably unhelpful and even insulting links. Many involve being off topic to your call, and others are coping technique sheets that involve such ingenious activities as walking the dog, lighting a candle, and chewing gum. I would also like to point out I was put on hold for an incredible amount of time when I made an attempt. Your four year old nephew is more insiteful, and may even make you chuckle. I have not a clue what these buffoons think they do to help. I often end up I listened to and more suicidal.

Two hour wait to be accused of being aggressive and misusing the system, then threatened with suspension.

I called telling them my situation trying to get help and safety but they ended up calling the police on me defending my abuser... I'M THE VICTIM, IN BEING ABUSED and they had cops come trying to arrest me for wanting to protect myself. YOU WILL DIE BEFORE GETTING SOME HELP FROM THESE PEOPLE!

I texted ******* at first and waited 45 min for a counselor. During this wait, I also tried 988 and got someone immediately after asking a series of annoying questions including three capchas. I stated I was having nonstop night terrors all night and had a fear of going back to a hospital that abused me. The idiot on the other end terrified me by trying to send me back.

I end the conversation after stating again I was in no harm to answer *******. There, I got asked what was causing my night terrors a whopping three times back to back. My first answer apparently wasn't enough for them and my second answer of I already answered that didn't seem to make it clear that the guy was obnoxious as all hell.

Dealing with these idiots will increase any problem you have.

I had my first experience with Crisis Text Line on Facebook Messenger about two years ago. Ever since then I have been attempting to get the attention of the board of directors and specifically Doctor Aifee Nobel.

No luck. I am glad that there is now a 988 text based crisis line available.

I agree, reading these one and two star reviews from site jabber is much more therapeutic than interfacing with a trained dumbed down human counselor.

This service does more harm than good being online without address to real focus of customer quality reviews.

Thank You.

I also have tried the interface on WhatsApp, same issues.

I struggle with autism, and this made me feel a little bit better, I guess. I agree with some of the other reviews here, it seemed like it just was a poorly programmed bot. After it ended it sent me to a survey. The last question on it was very strange "Do you have access to a gun?" Uh, what?

I'm still waiting after 5 hours to get a response. So much for crisis text line. I have hit an all time low an the last thing it could think of let me down. Thanks $#*!s

As sad and ironic as it is, I felt more validated and heard reading these one- and two-star reviews about how bot-like and scripted the responses from the counselors feel than said bot-like and scripted responses I got when I used the crisis line. I understand that this isn't supposed to be a substitute for professional help, but it isn't that for me. In fact, I've actually been getting professional help for almost 15 years. I wasn't expecting a miracle cure, but I was at least expecting more than what I could've found with a google search of "reasons not to off yourself", or "validating quote generator". I was at the very least, also, expecting the counselor to check with me and see if their "advice" was actually helpful. It wasn't, and they didn't. They didn't even make sure that I was no longer in crisis. I had reached out due to feeling like I wasn't worthy of anyone's time, but that wasn't what I was trying to validate, I was trying to find ways to invalidate that mindset. The superficial nature of the responses I got made me feel even worse, so I ended up just reaching out to the government funded line once the counselor ended the connection without any warning. Save yourself the time and emotional turmoil and just reach out to 988.

I've included images of my full conversation, and only censored PII. A lot of the PII I had to censor takes out the issues that they ignored, so there is some context missing in that regard. The minimal censoring I had to do for their responses should be a bit jarring though at the very least.

I just want to make it crystal clear how absolutely mindbogglingly pathetic mental health care is, expecially when it comes to *******:

This is my last time trying. There was at least a five minute pause between each responce. I asked for resources on coming down from mania, and I just get questions, including asking me the same damned question I asked them. 25 minutes passed by the time this guy recommended a counselor or peer group. Chats are timed at 45 min max. Ive had these idiots hang up on me right after recommending a nice walk AFTER I SAID I WAS AGORSPHOBIC!

Everything is a script. Questions are never answered. I always feel agitated, helpless, and far worse afterwards. EVEN SUICIDAL.

The only damned thing ******* does is tell you to call 911 if you are a danger to yourself, or how to breathe or ground yourself, which you probably already know.

Therapyaid dot com has free worksheets and are WAY more helpful. Or, call the voice line at 988 instead.

Robotic responses, inflexibility, selfishness, tone policing.

Also, as an autistic man, I'm done being "corrected" on language regarding autistic people. Don't ever tell an autistic person " the correct way is 'person with autism'.

Counselors are dismissive, and when hurtful, they are unapologetic, passive aggressive,

There us no way to reach a human being with a first and last name regarding their $#*!ty training on counseling and working with autistic folks.

This crisis line can leave you worse off than you were.

Do not recommend this to friends. They will certainly not have an actual person reach out to fix this. They'll just give lip service to get the credit without the leg work.

The CEO makes more than Philadelphia's school superintendent. They are thieves hiding in a non profit.

This is Horrible service they should just shut this down I felt mocked! Not professionals with experience.

Man, today was rough, and Crisis Text Line? Total letdown again. Gave their Spanish line a shot, but man, over 45 minutes just hanging on. Finally got through, but their Spanish? So choppy, felt like I was talking to Google Translate or something. Tried flipping over to their English line too, but bailed after an hour-long ghosting session.

Switched gears to 988, and what a difference! Quick, on-the-ball service. Makes you wonder why we even bother with that half-baked Crisis Text Line, right? 988's the real deal, instant help when you need it.

I wanted to talk to someone because I was feeling extremely isolated. The responses left me feeling worse than I did before I contacted them. Everything was so depersonalized and generic that it didn't feel like I was talking to a real person at all. All I got were a few generic lines like "That must be hard to go through, you are brave for reaching out." It is unfortunately not a helpful service.

I've been waiting for a response for 4 hours now to my text. I've tried 6 times. I keep getting automated responses about High Call Volumes with links to advice on how to breathe. Hate the state of mental health support in this country.

Crisis Text Line also shares data with for-profit companies, skirts their ethics review board, and fails to deescalate 40% of calls.

It was all so scripted, wrote about being raped and was only told "Thats brave of you to say." I was like no girl i wanna kill myself and I laughed out loud at the responce. "Thank you for sharing all of this. I am honestly impressed with your perseverance and strength to come so far with such difficult thoughts."

They also take forever to reply, clearly copy and pasting. I'm sitting with a razor blade in my hands shaking and people really be taking all the time in the world.

Made my night worse. Only positive thing was I was connected relatively quickly. I explained what was happening and that I was on the verge of a panic attack and he completely glossed over what I was saying and told me I should check my house for intruders while I could barely stand up. Couldn't find any place to leave feedback on the specific "counselor" so I'm here. Based on the other reviews as well, this place isn't worth texting and may do more harm than good.

Completely stilted and scripted, it literally had me wondering if I was talking to a poorly programmed bot. I stopped the conversation after getting three responses in 30 minutes of zero substance. I tried prompting ChatGPT with my concerns and it gave me more helpful responses. So, quite literally, you're better off talking to an AI chatbot than what purports to be an actual human with crisis training.

They say it takes only 5 mins tops...Hah! NOPE! That's a lie for sure. As a former Crisis Counselor, you better not violate any policy, even on accident, or say anything off of the script or you'll get the axe quicker than you can, "You're so brave for reaching out. You got this.", even if you don't "got this". They hurry you up unless you used to get a caring Counselor like me who let you take your time and didn't speak robotically. They said I went "rogue"! Really? I wasn't even the one who supposedly went rogue, my niece impersonated me when she came home drunk and SHE definitely went rogue. I didn't even waste my time trying to explain. The Crisis Counselor Policy Review Committee, sent me a nasty email saying I committed a severe offense. I thought I was going to be arrested or something! I'm sad to go, especially since it wasn't me who was texting, but do you really think they'd ever believe that? Not worth my breath and don't want to get the person who did it in trouble. She works for another crisis line.

Might as well google "generic platitudes" because that might be more helpful than texting this number. Feels like you're talking to a bot the whole time. I would love to meet anyone who found this number remotely helpful.