Crisis Text Line

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.

Garbage, waste of time and you get a robot who says they support you and NEVER DO! Garbage, waste of time and you get a robot who says they support you and NEVER DO!

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.

The crisis counselor closed the chat after I said I was thinking about committing suicide. They said to text back whenever I needed help again, but the problem is that they didn't help the first time. I was still in a terrible state when they decided to close the chat and I told them that. It shows that they really don't care.

I have an exceptionally hard time believing this is a real person who thinks my name might be Mania. It's like this every call. In the end, they don't listen and give you resources outside of that you need.

At least I got a laugh. My sense of humor is busted. The last thing I said before they closed the chat was "Still feeling hopeless but I guess I can be hopeless longer..." And they closed the chat. They say some rehearsed bull and then spit it at you, send some pdf file with coping skills and call it good. I'd suggest just going to the ER when you feel that way. Or finding someone you trust even though that's a pretty rare find. Those are your best resources.

I'm really not satisfied with this hotline at all. Every time I have contacted these people, they basically just repeat what I said, but as a question. And no, I can't go take a walk because I want to kill myself, its 2:56 in the morning-

I texted the line having suicidal thoughts, hoping to feel better. But their answers are so canned/scripted that it's even more alienating. They'll say, "gosh, dealing with (insert situation here) sounds hard, I'm glad you reached out today," two or three times, then send you a gif of a bubble popping to help you "reduce stress," then end the conversation. It's not helping anyone. I feel bad for people who get a gif of a bubble and a canned response right before they actually take the plunge. I didn't, obviously, but I have plenty of alcohol to help me forget that awful interaction.

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?

Don't bother using the ******* crisis text line unless you want cops showing up at your door, just because I forgot to respond back I get cops on my front door they will track you down and send you to a mental hospital like they did with me.

Texting the crisis text line connects you to a real person anonymously. The 1st make sure you are safe and not going to hurt yourself. Then they talk to you as long as you need to get over the "hump" of anxiety, depression, fears or whatever it is you are dealing with. I have used this service several times and it always helps to know that there is someone who cares enough to take the time to talk to a stranger, free of charge. They take time away from their own life to help others going through a hard time.

It takes a long time to connect to someone and all they do is restate what you said and tell you they understand how devastating that must be. The answers are clearly scripted and awkward. It figures this is the same line that Reddit "teamed up with" but which just became a tool to harass users—if someone doesn't like something you said, they can report you and claim they're concerned about your mental health and you get a link to these clowns.

I can guarantee this will make you feel worse. Takes them terribly long to respond. They just kept talking about coping mechanisms. And scripted responses. I'm pretty sure I was just talking to a bot. I opened up about being raped and Ashley changed the subject too " its almost time to wrap up, talk to me about coping mechanisms. " I feel even more alone now, please don't use *******

I tried texting when I was feeling super depressed and all I got was a "it'll take a moment to connect you with someone". It was left like that for a long long time and I finally gave up and opted out of the text messages with them. I thought it was supposed to "help" a person I need if they felt like there was no point in living anymore, but they just prove that no one cares. This world has turned to $#*! and no one cares, especially not even a so called crisis text line. Great job ruining our lives.

I wasted time going through their training. It is counter intuitive from what I have learned going to school for Mental Health counseling. The trainers feedback is condescending and unhelpful. Their responses are robotic and repetitive. Please be careful!

I was super suicidal one night so i decided to text a hotline, they had me on hold for about 40 minutes just for us to talk for about 5. I thought they were there to listen but when i talked to her about it she made it seem like she just wanted to get the conversation over with. The only thing helpful she said was stuff like "you're super brave to speak up about it i know it's hard, i'm proud of you" something along those lines. Then she cut me off asking me if she could give me a link to go to that will help me, like i want to read all of it during that time. Overall i just felt like they were there to do there job and not because they care. At the end she says "anything else you want to talk about" before i could barely finish.

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.

It was very unauthentic and robot like. I received zero help using this "resource", and felt more suicidal after texting them.

They are not trained mental health counselors, do not have a degree in counseling, or hold a legit verifiable license.

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.

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.

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.

Just sent texts to this line while feeling suicidal. 1-2 questions asked then nothing. Very long, awkward pause after having just revealed very sensitive info. It felt like being put on hold after you just shared your darkest secret. This was at 730am on a Saturday morning (US time). I'd hate to fathom what would happen during busier times. Such a shame.

Having over 20 years of experience dealing with people, including helping those with mental illnesses, suicide prevention, and youth programs, being a volunteer here is not ideal. Many "supervisors" tell you to rush thru conversations. They use a formatted robotic script and when you go off script, a supervisor pops up and tells you to get on track, even after you receive numerous thank you's from the texters.