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Hours of Operation:
Available 24/7

If the service appears offline or busy, please call the Lifeline at 1-800-273 TALK (8255). We are available 24/7.

ABOUT LIFELINE CRISIS CHAT

Lifeline Crisis Chat is a service of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in partnership with CONTACT USA. [To learn more about this partnership click here]. It is the first service of its kind where crisis centers across the United States have joined together to form one national chat network that can provide online emotional support, crisis intervention, and suicide prevention services. All crisis centers that participate in the Lifeline Crisis Chat program are members of the Lifeline phone network and are required to be accredited by CONTACT USA in the area of online emotional support.

Who should use the Lifeline Crisis Chat program? Anyone who is depressed, despairing, going through a hard time, or just needs to talk, including people who are thinking about suicide. Any life issues may be discussed on the Chat program. The chat specialists are here to listen and support you through whatever difficult times you may be facing.

What should I expect during a Lifeline Crisis Chat session? The goal of the Lifeline Crisis Chat service is to help you reduce stress and feel empowered to make healthy decisions. You will be asked questions regarding your safety, emotions and thoughts surrounding the situation, feelings of depression, your current social situation, and if you have any thoughts of suicide. If a chat specialist feels you are in danger they will speak with you about accessing emergency services, and/or additional contact information to ensure your safety. The chat specialist will work with you to create a safety plan if necessary.

Are all Lifeline Crisis Chat communications secure and confidential? The confidentiality and security of chats is ensured through the Lifeline chat software provider, which uses the same encryption and data protection standards required by major financial institutions to transact business with each other. All of your communications are securely encrypted from your computer to ours.

Troubleshooting Lifeline Crisis Chat Complaints

  • Troubleshooting Steps: This may happen because the Visitor’s browser is not up to date or because their Java Script is not enabled. They can check whether or not their browser is updated by doing to whatismybrowser.com and that page will inform them of their browser status and recommend what to do moving forward.

  • Troubleshooting steps: Occasionally this error occurs and if it does, visitors can try to enter another zip code nearby and/or e-mail the Lifeline by using the Contact Us Page(http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/About/Contact/) and under 'Type of Question' choose 'Technical Concerns' for further assistance. Please be aware that this email is not a crisis email and is only available 9am - 5pm Monday thru Friday.

  • Troubleshooting Steps: Lifeline is implementing a new routing system to prevent this from happening. It should be in place by December of 2015. Until that is in place, this situation can be prevented in most cases by not refreshing the page. Please note that our busiest time are from 10pm EST – 2am EST so you are most likely to be placed in the queue during those times.

  • Troubleshooting Steps: Since about 20,000 people visit our chat page per month, our demand is quite high and there is a possibility that you will wait in a queue. As stated earlier, our busiest time are 10pm EST – 2am EST so you are most likely to be in a queue during these times. We try very hard to answer every chat that comes through, without sacrificing the quality of the current visitors we serve. If you need immediate help when you are placed in our queue, please call our hotline 800-273-8255 or go to your nearest emergency room.

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Chat Terms of Service

Lifeline Chat Terms & Conditions

USE OF THIS SERVICE IS BOUND BY THIS TERMS AND CONDITIONS Please read the following statement before using this service. By using Lifeline Chat, which is operated by Link2Health Solutions you agree to the terms described below. If you don't agree to the terms, you may not use this service.

Modification of the Terms, Conditions and Privacy Statement

This statement may be modified from time to time. Any changes will be effective immediately upon posting. Each time you access this service you will be presented with the current terms, conditions and privacy statement for acceptance. You must agree to the modified terms to use this service. Nature and Use of Information Provided through This Service YOUR PARTICIPATION IN LIFELINE CHAT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE MENTAL HEALTH CARE OR TREATMENT AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP, A THERAPIST-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP OR ANY OTHER SORT OF CONFIDENTIAL RELATIONSHIP. THIS SERVICE IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL HEALTH CARE. IF YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE EXPERIENCING A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, CALL YOUR DOCTOR OR 911 IMMEDIATELY. Link2Health Solutions and any of their employees, volunteers or agents are not responsible for any decisions, or results of the decisions that you make while, as a result of, or after participating in Lifeline Chat. This includes whether you choose to seek or not seek professional care, or to modify or terminate specific treatment that you are currently receiving based on the information provided by this service. You assume all risk for use of this service. Link2Health Solutions and any of their employees, volunteers, or agents have no liability for actions taken by you or a third party, or not taken by you or a third party, and you agree to indemnify us and hold us harmless for damages arising out of information provided through this service. Without limiting the foregoing, in no event shall Link2Health Solutions be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, or indirect damages. This service is provided on an “as is” basis and “as available” basis. Link2Health Solutions expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied and make no warranty that Lifeline Chat will a) meet your requirements; b) be uninterrupted, timely, confidential, secure, or error-free; or c) meet your expectations.

Privacy and Security

We take your privacy and security very seriously. Security controls, including encryption and authentication, are in place to ensure the protection of your information. Any information provided by you or collected on you will not be shared or disclosed with any third party. We do, however, reserve the right to disclose any personal information to the authorities at our sole discretion and as required by law. Despite these protections, the Internet remains an imperfectly secure environment, and Link2Health Solutions cannot guarantee protection from intruders or interceptors. You agree to use this service and submit information at your own risk. You agree that Link2Health Solutions have no liability regarding unauthorized access to this service by a third party.



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ACCESSING LIFELINE CRISIS CHAT

The Lifeline Crisis Chat service is available within the United States and territories 24/7. If all chat specialists are busy assisting other visitors you will be asked to try the chat again in a half hour. If the chat service is not open we encourage you to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

Step 1: Read and accept the Lifeline Chat terms and conditions

Step 2: Click the “online” chat icon to the right

Step 3: Complete and submit the brief pre-chat questions

Once you have completed your chat session, you will also be asked to respond to a few post-chat questions about our service. Learning more about your experiences with Lifeline Chat will allow us to further develop our service to more closely fit your needs. We would really appreciate your feedback.

Lifeline Crisis Chat etiquette

  • Use a computer with a strong internet connection to minimize disruptions.
  • Use respectful language
  • Stay focused on the chat and respond promptly, limit multitasking
  • If you need to step away from your computer, let us know or end the chat and come back when you have more time.

If the service appears 'offline' or 'busy', please call Lifeline on 1800-273-TALK (8255) – we are available 24/7

If you or someone you know is in danger or needs immediate medical attention, please call 911

CONTACT USA has been offering help to those in need through online chat since 2010. Crisis Chat has been a nationwide project that aims to improve access to mental health care. Crisis Chat has linked existing certified crisis call centers around the United States on one website platform, creating a service that will eventually route website visitors to the crisis center that serves their local area. Crisis Chat has also provided essential emotional support and crisis intervention services to millions of people who are depressed, despairing or thinking about suicide.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline) partnered with CONTACT USA to provide expanded crisis/suicide prevention services across the country. As part of this process, a memorandum of understanding was developed which outlines how both entities will work together to ensure quality services to all those in need of online emotional support and crisis intervention services.

The crisischat.org website will continue to serve as a full-service online crisis site, offering both direct and indirect service options. In this way, people accessing the site will be able to pick and choose among these interventions based on their own comfort level, perhaps visiting the site the first time for information and the second time to talk to a chat specialist. When the choice is to chat, that request will be routed directly to the Lifeline Crisis Chat program.