Help For Those in Need
The information below is to provide quick guidance in times of need. For all life-or-death emergencies, please call 911 or visit the closest hospital.
Behavioral Science Services
During business hours: Call 213-486-0790
For after-hours urgent (only) needs:
Call LAPD DOC and request the “On-Call Psychologist”
External Crisis Resources:
24-Hour National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Dial 988
COPLINE “Peer Supported 24/7 Hotline”: 1-800-COPLINE
How BSS can be helpful if you or a colleague are in crisis and need help
Care and compassion. All BSS police psychologists actively listen with empathy and care for the whole person. Compassion literally means “to suffer together.” As such, anticipate an open and honest discussion about what you are going through and your concerns (whether you are the impacted employee, spouse, or coworker). Anticipate support. Anticipate a relationship based on trust. Anticipate the psychologist’s ethical responsibility to place your welfare above all. Anticipate professional guidance so that you can make informed decisions and choose the most helpful path forward.
Confidentiality. Your confidentiality is legally and ethically protected. The psychologists honor your confidentiality, and it distinguishes these professionals from your chain of command, coworkers, friends, and others who are not ethically and legally bound to protect your privacy. It is important for you to feel safe sharing any thoughts of self-harm without fear of reactive gun removal, involuntary hospitalization, loss of job assignment, fitness for duty evaluation, loss of employment, or identity as a police officer or civilian professional. So, know that depression and past or passive suicidal thoughts will be kept confidential. In fact, everything will be kept confidential except those things by law and ethics which require immediate intervention—if you are imminently suicidal, imminently homicidal, reporting child abuse, and/or reporting elder or dependent adult abuse.
Know that if you are imminently suicidal, you can trust that the psychologist will be your advocate, provide care and compassion, and help you navigate the situation with your best interests in mind (including how to best navigate job assignment and career). This is one of the differences when working with a Department police psychologist versus other healthcare professionals who may not be familiar with, understand, or appreciate law enforcement policies, procedures, dynamics, lifestyles, or culture.
Consultation. BSS has a psychologist on-call 24/7/365 (via the DOC) to provide emergency consultations and guidance when employees are in crisis or have urgent concerns. If your inquiry, questions, or concerns are not urgent, BSS offers consultation and guidance during regular business hours to increase awareness, decision-making, and effectiveness, and to prevent situations from escalating into crises.
Counseling and psychotherapy. If you are in crisis, the psychologist’s focus will always be on the immediate problem. The psychologist will work to identify factors that led to the crisis state, help relieve your symptoms, help you develop adaptive coping strategies, and help you connect your current stressors with any past life experiences.
If you are not in crisis, individual therapy often includes evidence-based strategies for symptom reduction, acquiring new coping skills, increasing self-efficacy, stabilizing mood, preventing relapse, changing any unhealthy dynamics within yourself or your relationships with others that contributed to or exacerbated the situation, and gaining insight. You will likely learn how to increase your tolerance for distress, regulate your mood, increase your mindfulness, and increase your interpersonal effectiveness to make the changes you want in your life. You can also get assistance with changing lifestyle factors, including managing your drinking or getting sober, if you so desire.
BSS services offered include single-session appointments, individual therapy, couples therapy, and individual and group debriefings. Alcohol and substance abuse prevention counseling by specially trained peer support members (sworn) is also offered.
Referral. BSS personnel can offer a variety of referrals which may include Peer Support, primary care physician and/or other MDs (e.g., pain management specialist, psychiatrist), emergency room, addiction treatment, family support and education, and other resources as appropriate and desired.
Myths vs. Facts About Mental Health and Suicide
Myth: If you call BSS or other mental health resource, you will ruin your career.
Fact: Your contacts with a licensed mental health professional are protected by law. All BSS Police Psychologists are California-licensed psychologists who are obligated to protect your confidentiality by state and federal laws (e.g., HIPPA), as well as by the professional ethics of the practice of psychology.
BSS professionals work closely with employees and leadership to provide the best guidance possible on navigating a temporary crisis in the least intrusive manner possible. We know that jeopardizing one’s career and livelihood is not going to help one’s mental health.
“We know that jeopardizing one’s career and livelihood is not going to help one’s mental health.”
Myth: You can’t tell when someone is feeling suicidal.
Fact: Suicide is complex and how people act when they’re struggling to cope is different for everyone. Sometimes there are signs someone might be going through a difficult time or having difficult thoughts. For some people, several signs might apply - for others just one or two, or none. Find out more on how to spot the signs that someone may not be OK.
BSS Police Psychologists are available around-the-clock (via the DOC) to provide consultation and guidance when concerns or uncertainties arise.
Myth: You can’t ask someone if they’re suicidal.
Fact: Evidence shows asking someone if they’re suicidal could protect them. Asking someone if they’re having suicidal thoughts can give them permission to tell you how they feel and let them know they are not a burden.
Myth: People who talk about suicide aren't serious and won't go through with it.
Fact: People who die by suicide have often told someone that they do not feel life is worth living or that they have no future. Some may have actually said they want to die.
It's possible that someone might talk about suicide as a way of getting attention, in the sense of calling out for help.
It’s important to always take someone seriously if they talk about feeling suicidal. Helping them get the support they need could save their life.
The majority of people who feel suicidal do not actually want to die - they just want the situation they’re in or the way they’re feeling to stop.
Myth: Talking about suicide is a bad idea as it may give someone the idea to try it.
Fact: Suicide can be a taboo topic. Often, people who are feeling suicidal don’t want to worry or burden anyone with how they feel and so they don’t discuss it.
But, by asking someone directly about suicide, you give them permission to tell you how they feel. People who are struggling or have felt suicidal will often say what a huge relief it was to be able to talk about what they were experiencing.
Once someone starts talking, they’ve got a better chance of discovering options that aren't suicide.
Myth: If a person is serious about killing themselves then there's nothing you can do.
Fact: Often, feeling actively suicidal is temporary, even if someone has been feeling low, anxious or struggling to cope for a long period of time. Getting the right kind of support at the right time is so important. In a situation where someone is having suicidal thoughts, be patient, stay with them and just let them know you're there. Remember, if you think it's an emergency or someone had tried to harm themselves- call 911.
If you don’t believe it’s an imminent emergency necessitating a 911 call, and/or you are unsure about how the Department could assist you with your concerns, reach out to a BSS Police Psychologist for consultation and guidance.
Myth: You have to be mentally ill to think about suicide.
Fact: 1 in 5 people have thought about suicide at some time in their life. And not all people who die by suicide have mental health problems at the time they die.
However, many people who die by suicide have struggled with their mental health, typically to a serious degree. This may or may not be known before the person's death.
Myth: People who are suicidal want to die.
Fact: The majority of people who feel suicidal do not actually want to die; they just want the situation they’re in or the way they’re feeling to stop. The distinction may seem small, but it is very important. It's why talking through other options at the right time is so vital.