Crisis Services - Sweetser

To speak with a trained crisis clinician 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, call 1-888-568-1112.

Sweetser's Crisis Services operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and serve children, adolescents, families and adults who are in crisis. The goal of the program is to:

Stabilize individuals and families in the least restrictive environment
Assist in crisis resolution
Provide a comprehensive crisis plan

Crisis Stabilization Units

Crisis Stabilization Units provide short-term therapeutic placement for a child or adult who is experiencing a mental health crisis. Sweetser's Crisis Stabilization Units are available to anyone throughout Maine. There are locations for children in Belfast and Saco, and for adults in Brunswick.

Mobile Crisis Intervention

Cumberland, Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties

Mobile crisis intervention specialists respond to clients’ calls for assistance in their homes, at schools, in other community locations, or in community hospital’s emergency rooms. Sweetser’s mobile crisis intervention specialists respond to crisis calls from parents, teachers, police officers, other guardians and youths asking for immediate help with a child or family in crisis. Sweetser responds to those crisis calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

To access Mobile Crisis Intervention services, call 1-888-568-1112.

More information for clients and families.

Information for Clients and Families

Goal

The goal of Sweetser's Crisis Services is to assist individuals and families who are having a mental health crisis by providing crisis assessment and a comprehensive plan for stabilization that utilizes the individual's/family's strengths, natural supports and community resources.

Philosophy

We believe in rapid, flexible responses:

We believe that a crisis occurs when there is a change for the worse in the emotions or behavior of any individual that results in their usual coping skills becoming overwhelmed. During these acute events, we are committed to providing rapid and flexible response focused on restoring equilibrium for the individual experiencing the crisis and for the members of their support system.

We work in collaborative partnership with individuals and their families:

We believe that periods of crisis are inherently difficult for family members and others who are supporting the individual in crisis, as well as for the individual actually experiencing the crisis. Successful crisis stabilization rarely occurs in isolation from an individual's support system. We are committed to working in a collaborative partnership with individuals, their families and other members of their support systems to stabilize the crisis in the least intrusive or restrictive manner possible always taking into account their unique cultural, ethnic and personal characteristics.

We focus on individual and family strengths to create solutions:

Our service approach is strengths based and person centered, building the individual's and family's own strengths and resources to develop achievable solutions. By promoting a mutually respectful, collaborative partnership we empower individuals and their families to build resiliency and manage their own path to recovery.

We promote continued support for recovery:

We understand that individuals who experience a crisis may need additional community based supports to return to their prior level of functioning. We actively work to ensure that individuals and families access the services that they see as most useful to achieve their stabilization goals.

We hold ourselves accountable:

We recognize that "helping systems" can reinforce unhelpful behavior patterns as well as support positive change. We continually reflect on the impact of our own attitudes and interactions on the individuals and families we seek to serve. We continually strive to improve our ways of offering support and interventions, utilizing individuals and families feedback and assessment to inform our service.