The Veteran Supported Education Service Treatment Manual: VetSEd

Managing Crisis and Emergency Situations
VetSEd supervisors serve an essential role in preparing peer VetSEd providers to manage
crisis and emergency situations that occur while providing VetSEd services. Several
strategies can be used to foster such preparation. These include: a) developing emergency
plans; and b) reviewing the additional VA training materials related to crisis and
emergency management.
Emergency Planning
Peer VetSEd providers will be better prepared to respond to the emergencies experienced
by Veterans enrolled in VetSEd if they have created example emergency plans in
advance. It is recommended that the VetSEd supervisor and peer provider discuss and
create emergency plans for the more common emergencies including suicidal/homicidal
ideation, loss of housing/homelessness, alcohol and/or drug slips or relapses and loss of
contact with Veteran after many attempts to follow-up.
Emergency Plan Example
During initial supervision meetings with the peer VetSEd provider the VetSEd supervisor
may address experiences with emergent situations like suicidal or homicidal ideation, as
well as, establish a plan in the event that either should occur. For instance, the following
plan may be agreed upon:
In the event that a Veteran indicates that s/he is suicidal with a clear plan or definite intent,
the VetSEd clinical supervisor should be notified and the Veteran should be escorted to
his/her current therapist, if possible. If his/her therapist is unavailable, the Veteran should
be escorted to the walk-in mental health clinic to be seen by the next available clinician.
Veterans should not be left alone during this time. The peer VetSEd provider should stay
with the Veteran until they are able to see a mental health clinician for evaluation. The
peer VetSEd provider should also remind Veterans of emergency contact options
throughout the VetSEd process as well as during emergency situation. Examples of
emergency contact options include: current VA therapist (during business hours)/ walk-in
mental health clinic, 911, and the 24-hour National Veteran Crisis Line, 1-800-273-8255
(TALK).
In the event that a Veteran indicates clear intent and a definite plan to harm a specific
person, the VetSEd supervisor should be notified and the Veteran should be directed to
his/her current therapist, if possible. If his/her therapist is unavailable, the Veteran should
be escorted to the walk-in mental health clinic to be seen by the next available clinician.
VA police and/or local police and the targeted person may also need to be notified to
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*Plans may need to be modified in order to accommodate each facility.