Crisis Clinic

As a non-profit organization, we offer an array of support services available to everyone in King County. Our objective is to provide immediate and confidential assistance, including information and linkage to community resources, for people in emotional distress and in need of help.

In August 1963, a 12-year old girl was stabbed by a troubled letter carrier. After the attack, authorities learned that the assailant had sought help to curb aggressive impulses. He’d also mentioned his feelings to several people before the incident, but failed to find the treatment that could have prevented it. The girl recovered, but her parents believed the tragedy might have been avoided had the assailant been able to turn to someone for help in managing his anger. Some kind of service was needed to help people in emotional distress cope with life’s sometimes overwhelming difficulties.
With a broad array of community support, they were able to fill that gap in King County’s mental health services. They founded a safe, confidential telephone service for people in emotional distress to call and receive immediate, caring assistance from a skilled volunteer: Crisis Clinic.
Seattle’s telephone directory first listed Crisis Clinic’s number in March 1964. Initially, volunteers and members of the Board of Trustees answered calls at home and at work. The first Crisis Clinic office opened in May 1964 with a part-time director, two telephones, a typewriter, a desk and two chairs. Through the years, Crisis Clinic has continued to expand and evolve in response to the needs of the community. Today the agency has five major areas of work: phone services, volunteer services, community and volunteer training, the resource center and fund development.

Crisis Clinic offers five Phone Worker trainings a year, Orientation and Screening is a required step in the application process and is scheduled to occur 1-2 weeks prior to training. The May/June Session's Orientation and Screening is scheduled for Tuesday May 10th and Wednesday May 11th from 6pm-9pm. The Orientation and Screening for the August Training is scheduled for Tuesday July 19th and Thursday July 21st.

Crisis Phone Workers volunteer to serve on one 4 ½ shift a week for twelve months after successful completion of 60 hours of specialized training. Phone Worker Training is offered four times a year on Tuesday evenings and Saturdays. The Summer Intensive Training has Monday - Thursday classes the first and third week of August.