This course does not offer CE Credits. The same course is available for purchase and offers 1 CE hour for behavioral health clinicians. See "related products" below.
You only get one chance to answer a crisis call the right way. In those raw, urgent moments—when a client reveals suicidal intent, breaks down over a devastating loss, or can no longer bear their pain—your voice becomes their lifeline. What you say and how you say it can either build a bridge to safety or leave them stranded in silence. This course is your preparation for that moment.
Whether you’ve taken that late-night call from a panicked client or anticipate the moment you might, Crisis Calls Skills offers practical tools to support others while staying grounded yourself. Prepare now—so when the moment comes, you won’t feel unprepared.
Kelly Lannon, APC, BC-TMH, CMCC, is a seasoned crisis intervention specialist and Air Force combat veteran. With years of experience on the Veterans Crisis Line and in trauma-focused care for military personnel and their families, Kelly brings grounded wisdom and evidence-based strategies to the emotionally charged task of managing crisis calls. Her therapeutic foundation in CBT, DBT, CPT, and existential-humanistic approaches provides the ideal blend of structure and heart that this topic demands.
Kelly’s training style is clear, supportive, and experiential. She offers practical, real-world guidance while empowering clinicians to recognize their own emotional reactions and professional limits. Her teaching helps participants walk away with a concrete plan, tailored resources, and a new level of emotional readiness.
This course explores the definition and impact of crisis, types of crisis calls including suicide ideation and financial distress, and strategies for engaging clients in distress. It covers developing a crisis response toolkit, identifying inclusive community and national resources, and managing professional expectations and fears. Through this training, clinicians gain a reliable framework to assess, plan, and respond effectively to moments of high acuity and risk.
Key Takeaways:
Recognize and define crisis situations: Learn to understand and define crisis from multiple perspectives and identify when a situation requires immediate intervention.
Develop resource-based response plans: Gain tools for building a comprehensive crisis response plan with local, state, and national support.
Respond with empathy and clarity: Practice techniques for engaging clients with calm, clear communication—even in chaotic moments.
Why This Course?
Expert instruction from lived experience: Learn from an instructor who has spent years on the frontlines of crisis intervention for veterans and military families.
Immediate clinical impact: Gain strategies and tools you can apply immediately in your practice to support clients in acute distress.
Trusted CE provider: Offered by Telehealth Certification Institute, a leader in high-quality behavioral health training that reflects our mission to empower clinicians with excellence and compassion.
Learning Objectives:
Define a crisis and develop resources to utilize when a crisis occurs.
Examine types of crisis calls and generate a plan for these calls.
Engage with the client and manage expectations and fears.
Whether you’re new to handling crisis calls or seeking to refine your current approach, this course offers essential insights and strategies to prepare you for some of the toughest—and most important—moments in clinical practice.
Enroll in this course today and be ready when it matters most.
This is a non-interactive, self-study course. Instruction consists of 1 hour of video instruction and a course evaluation.
Availability: From the time of registration, you have six months to access the coursework.
Who Should Attend: This course is intended for clinicians who provide behavioral health services. This continuing education course is designed for licensed behavioral health professionals and provides training in suicide prevention using expressive arts as an integrative approach. However, this is not a creative arts therapy course and does not provide training in creative arts therapy.
Teaching Methods: This is a non-interactive, self-study course. Teaching methods for this course include recorded lectures, videos, a post-test, and a course evaluation.
How to Attend: Instructions for attending and completing a course can be found here.
Kelly Lannon, APC, BC-TMH, CMCC; an Air Force combat veteran, has a Masters in Mental Health Counseling from the Margaret Warner Graduate school at University of Rochester. Kelly completed her graduate work with the Canandaigua, NY Veteran Affairs. While at the VA, she assisted veterans in processing trauma, while coping with substance use concerns. After completing graduate work, Kelly continued to work in crisis intervention and suicide prevention with veterans, active duty military, and their families. Her therapeutic approach is based in Existential and Humanistic approaches, combining skills found in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) to best serve individual needs.
Disclosure Statement: The instructor(s) for this course receive compensation for their services. There are no reported conflicts of interest to disclose.
This course does not offer CE credits, just great content.
The same course is available for purchase and offers 1 CE hour for behavioral health clinicians. See "related products" below.
This course is a non-interactive, online self-study.
Participants may request a printed version of their certificate of completion to be delivered by mail. A shipping/handling fee of $6.95 will be charged per request. Shipping internationally may require an additional charge.
