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Team is committed to being there in a time of crisis: 9 questions with Glenda Vian

Post-Bulletin - 5/25/2021

May 25—Help in a mental health crisis is just a phone call away in the 10 counties served by Crisis Response of Southeast Minnesota.

By calling (844) 274-7472, residents throughout the region can connect with members of the region's community crisis team.

With May observed as Mental Health Awareness Month, it seems like a good time to ask one of the members a few questions about the work.

Glenda Vian is an Olmsted County employee who has been working as a clinical social worker embedded with the community crisis team for about 18 months.

What's involved in a typical day as a crisis team member?

"With crisis services, the days can be unpredictable, but how I support the team is as calls come in, I help with the clinical supervision aspect with our practitioners that go out and work with the clients.

"For example, when someone is in crisis, we send practitioners to their homes, and I'm available by phone to help assist the practitioner in any way that I can to make sure we meet the client's needs, whether it's through coping skills, resource connection or helping deescalate the crisis situation and be empathetic, listening and calming."

Before joining the county staff, you worked in inpatient psychiatry and the complex intervention unit at Mayo Clinic. What prompted you to switch jobs?

"I've always enjoyed working and helping people in crisis. Mental health is my passion and being able to help keep people in the community, getting the support and helping them stay at home with their families is my passion. ...

"I did love my job at Mayo, I just wanted to work more in the community and keep people safe in the community."

What's the most challenging aspect of the job with the crisis team?

"We have a big team — we are 24 hours a day — so we are very skilled and we help people from children to adults, so I think the most challenging is you never know what the situation is until you talk to the person, just because there are so many different things that can cause a crisis.

"You need to be open minded and empathetic to get to what the crisis is, because sometimes when people are stressed, it could be a job loss, but it could be more than that. There could be family dynamics that are really the root of the problem or something that's been ongoing.

"We support a lot of people that have ongoing mental health and chemical dependency, so sometimes that's more the root issue than the job loss that triggered the crisis."

During the day, mental health practitioners from Zumbro Valley Health Center, Hiawatha Valley Mental Health Center and South Central Human Relations Center make in-person visits while you provide support services. How much do you engage in the process?

"I talk with the practitioners before they get to the call, while they are at the call and then when we end the call. We are in constant contact for a plan to help the person the best way we can.

"We work as a team. We really meet the person's needs, but the one thing we don't want to do is make the person tell their story multiple times, so we take the team approach.

"I do talk to the person, if they need the added support from another team member. If they don't, we really come up with the plan as a team, and I help with the clinical connection and oversight. ...

"Sometimes it helps when you are working with someone to have the added connection to give them all the support they need."

What happens if a call comes in after the standard workday?

"On the overnights, we have teams of two that go out on calls in person, and we have rotations of other mental health professionals that support the overnight teams. ....

"We have enough people that we rotate weekly with the overnight teams."

What happens after a response team makes a visit?

"We do stabilization services, so if someone after the immediate crisis needs to be connected with resources and needs to learn coping skills, our team works together to help people get case management and psychiatry support, and our case managers will do visits and work on coping skills with people until those new services come into effect."

How have calls changed during the COVID-19 pandemic?

"In the last year, with COVID, we have seen an increase in calls from families. There has been more stress with having to homeschool, or more stress with job loss, furloughs and layoffs.

"We have also seen an increase in the daytime calls with people struggling with mental health and chemical dependency relapses. They are hoping the support people can get them resources to find treatments or (assessments) so they can get into treatment."

The Southeast Regional Crisis Center is expected to open soon on the Olmsted County campus in southeast Rochester and you will work from there. What are your expectations related to the new facility?

"Right now if we have someone in crisis who is having hidden suicidal idealizations, where they can't stay at home, we have to send them into the emergency department. The crisis center will help them maintain safety and divert from the emergency departments, which I think will be great

"It will really help keep the individual safe without having to go into the emergency department to maintain that safety when they are not safe to be home alone.

"With the mobile teams, I'll be working there in person, so I will be able to provide all the consistency of all three of our teams, because we all help each other."

Before we end, can you sum up the goal of mobile crisis response?

"We come to them. We are discreet, and we really try to get them services without ever having to go into the hospital."

Asked & Answered is a weekly question-and-answer column featuring people of southeastern Minnesota. Is there somebody you'd like to see featured? Send suggestions to news@postbulletin.com.

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