How did you get into this line of work?  

I always knew I wanted to help people since I was young. I thought I would be a therapist working with children but after college, I took a break and when I returned to school I met students in the Psych Tech program and fell in love with what they were doing. I was hired with an ACT program working with the chronically mentally ill right before graduating and I loved it. I wanted to further my career and experience by working in crisis response, so here I am years later and loving it! 

Can you describe your job? 

My job is supervising some of the team members for Sycamores MCOT and running swing/overnight shifts several days out of the week. I ensure that the teams in the field are well-supported, and that I am available for consultation and feedback. I develop and nurture growth for my supervisees, and work alongside a great management team that is supportive of each other. When opportunity allows, I go out into the community and respond to calls, helping people and families at their lowest when they feel lost and might not know what to do. Our team members and I help people safe by hospitalizing if needed but also provide resources and referrals for ongoing support within their communities.   

Why is this work important?   

This work is important because we go out to places and work with people that might not have anyone else or people that society does not want to deal with or work with anymore because they have dealt with them for a long time. It is important to convey that each individual matters, and we are the ones that can instill hope in their lives.   

Do you have a story where you felt like you really helped someone, and if so, could you share that story?   

We had a client experiencing delusions and psychosis that resulted in him destroying the restroom, breaking doors, and the client had locked himself in his room and no one was able to get him out. He was extremely paranoid that someone was out to kill him. Based on collateral, this was client’s first break. The MCOT team was able to speak with client through the door and provided a safe space to acknowledge how scared they were feeling and empathize with feeling alone and how real these symptoms were to him. The client was eventually able to come out of the room, engage with the MCOT team and agreed to go to the hospital. When following up, the family shared that the client was taking medication and had started mental health services and all the paranoia and voices had gone. The client described it as the scariest time of his life because he did not know what was happening to him, and he and the family were very thankful that the MCOT team took the time to be supportive in such a caring way.  

What is something you wish people knew about your work that they don't know?  

I wish they would know that even though we are a crisis program we are not just there to hospitalize people. We want to truly help for the long-term however we can by providing resources and connecting them with the appropriate ongoing support and services. 

What positive feedback have you received from families after providing them with resources? 

Families are grateful and thankful and sometimes surprised with all the resources that are available, but they were not aware of.  Families report feeling heard and grateful because our MCOT teams spend time with the clients and the families explaining the procedures and the resources we provide. they are appreciative that the teams are thorough and kind when assessing. 

We have cards  in English, Spanish, Armenian, Farsi, Korean, and Chinese.  

The following languages can be downloaded, link below in the format of Posters, Bookmarks, Magnets, Socials and Business Cards. 

Arabic 

Japanese Hindi 

Khmer 

Russian 

Tagalog 

Thai 

Vietnamese