“Youth Crisis Line. How can I help you?” Experiences of a crisis line youth volunteer

Isabella, a mental health youth advocate and high school senior, recently connected with our SRI team to share her experiences and learn more about our collective work to engage and assist youth in mental health services and research. We were impressed to learn about her roles as a Youth Delegate in mental health and equity discussions at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum, a youth advisor for Stanford University’s Reporting Responsibly On Campus Suicide (RROCS) Project, and as a volunteer with the California Youth Crisis Line.

We asked Isabella to share more about her experiences as a trained volunteer with the California Youth Crisis Line, which operates as the statewide emergency response system for California youth (ages 12-24) and families in crisis. She was interested in volunteering to help break the cycle of stigma, to help youth who are struggling, and to understand “what the mental health system looks like and works from the inside.”

First, Isabella described the rigorous application and training process required for volunteers. In multiple sessions and under the direct supervision of clinical staff, Isabella learned useful ways to respond to callers, such as by

1. Understanding what they need (from active listening to resource support),
2. Assessing their level of safety (particularly related to self-harm/suicide, domestic violence, and abuse), and
3. Identifying and connecting them with helpful resources.

She also described helpful de-escalation techniques to use with callers (and in many other situations where teens are in crisis). Isabella has learned to choose among techniques in a way that “matches the intensity” and needs of the caller, such as the following:

1. Remain calm and steady in your reactions and tone of voice, and slow down the conversation.
2. Provide youth with mindfulness exercises to center their attention on current surroundings and state of being (e.g., “Describe what you see in your room right now. What do you hear? What can you reach out and touch?), including breathing techniques
3. Break problems and solutions down into smaller, more manageable steps.

Importantly, Isabella has been trained to increase her confidence and comfort with asking direct, matter-of-fact questions, even if the questions might feel awkward, harsh, or presumptuous. It is critical that helpers not avoid or “dance around” topics, and research shows that open, candid, sensitive, and supportive conversations are helpful and effective in reducing harm—not escalating it (Dazzi et al., 2014; Mishara et al.,2010).

Still, experienced crisis intervention counselors are always available to support the volunteers and their callers in the moment, when needed. Volunteers and counselors can arrange for direct connection to resources through a three-way call to support callers in accessing services. To ensure volunteers provide high-quality support and also attend to their own well-being, they participate in ongoing training, reflection, and quality assurance monitoring by supervisors.

When we asked Isabella to reflect on how her volunteering has impacted her the most, she shared that the experience has helped her to be more comfortable with silence. She has learned firsthand that people experience and communicate distress in so many ways, and it’s important to let folks process their trauma and grief in their own way. She doesn’t have to fill the empty space. Sometimes just being there is enough.

Finally, Isabella made a plea to all of us who care about youth and their well-being:

We must work to improve the mental health system that is difficult to navigate because it is not designed with all people in mind—those, for example, who are marginalized (due to racial or sexual identity, immigration or economic status, disability or health conditions), neurodivergent, and/or living in unsafe situations.

We must reduce the stigma about help-seeking and mental health needs. Too many people are afraid to admit they need support, and that fear can keep them silent until they reach a breaking point. We have to normalize and encourage prevention and early intervention. As Isabella concluded, “Asking for help is not an admission that there is something wrong with me—it’s more that I want the best for me and the people around me.”

References

Published September 2026.

Topics: High school Mental health

Tags: Student Perspective Youth Advocate