Pros
-Pay is comparable to other Mobile Crisis positions in other areas. -Valuable experience for those who want to be well-rounded as a therapist, I think all therapists should learn crisis management skills in this manner.
Cons
-It's not one job, its more like 5 different jobs (answer the suicide hotline, evaluate clients in the ER after a suicide attempt, meet with Law Enforcement in the community, testify in court for hospital placement, evaluate clients in the jail and juvenile hall for suicide watch, and visit clients in crisis at adult and child residential facilities or at their doctors office. -Burnout is real due to the high intensity of the role and the way the locals treat those in mental health (not well). The suicide rate in Klamath Falls is almost 3x the national average, everyone you meet knows someone who has died this way, it is utterly pervasive in that town. -You CANNOT avoid running into people you have provided crisis services for, whether over the phone, in the jail, at the ER, at the homeless shelter or out in the community, on a near daily basis due to the size of the town. I would try to take my daughter to the park, and there she is, playing with one of my clients. Once I placed a woman on a psych hold, and a year later, she was hired at my job and became a coworker. You have clients ringing up your groceries, serving you food, pumping your gas. A lot of dual relationships.