Some cities have dedicated mental health crisis units that are trained to deal with such situations, and some cities do not. In most of these cases, emergency s

Some cities have dedicated mental health crisis units that are trained to deal with such situations, and some cities do not. In most of these cases, emergency services are only called if the situation escalates out of the control of the person on the phone or therapist. E.g.: Situation 1: Therapist/volunteer: "Are you planning to kill yourself right now?" Client/Hotline caller: "No, I just can't stop thinking about it and I don't see any other way out." Therapist/volunteer: Gives resources, talks "Do you think you will be safe until you can make it to counseling/crisis center/other help?" Client/Hotline caller: "Yes." no emergency services are called Situation 2: Therapist/volunteer: "Are you planning to kill yourself right now?" Client/Hotline caller: "Yes, I have this bottle of pills/knife/rope and I'm doing it tonight." Therapist/volunteer: tries to talk them out of it, and get positive affirmation that they will be safe, but fails emergency services are called Situation 3: Therapist/volunteer: "Are you planning to kill yourself right now?" Client/Hotline caller: "Yes, I have a gun and I'm going to kill someone else too" cops are called immediately Those are extremely contrived examples and I'm not a therapist/volunteer myself (I just know a few), but that's generally how it goes. Emergency services are called only when the caller has a concrete plan, the means, and refuses alternatives or represents a danger to others. In some places with poor services (read: places that probably need them the most, unfortunately) this just winds up being poorly trained cops and people get shot sometimes because the cop "felt threatened". Bear this in mind in how you communicate such an emergency, if you ever face it with a loved one. Know your resources.