Former crisis line counselor reflects on tough, rewarding job

Published 1:30 am Thursday, September 25, 2025

Alexa Nachreiner put in three years answering calls to the Salish Regional Crisis Line, talking with distraught individuals often at the lowest point in their lives.

“It can be really tough work. It is difficult to hear the pain of the community. However, you also get to support them in sometimes their worst moment,” said Nachreiner, now a program coordinator at the crisis phone service.

“We get a lot of callers endorsing suicidal ideation, in a mental health crisis or calling about someone in mental health crisis. As an empathetic person, you can’t help but really care for the person and hurt with them,” Nachreiner said.

Answering calls is emotionally taxing at times, but the work is rewarding.

“There’s a lot of satisfaction in getting the opportunity to be part of the solution, or even just being a sounding board and providing a space for someone to feel heard,” she said.

The most stressful calls for crisis counsellors who answer the phones are those from people who need emergent assistance.

“What that would look like is – if someone had ideation to end their life, has a plan with access to the means and is unwilling to create a safety plan. Or, they’ve already done something to harm themselves and are actively bleeding or have taken more medication than is prescribed with the intention of ending their life or is holding a gun,” she said.

There is no time limit on how long calls will take.

“They go as long as they need to. They can be anywhere from 10 minutes or we’ll stay on the phone for three hours, if that’s what helps,” she said.

A difficult part of the job for crisis counselors is wondering what happens after a phone call ends.

“For counselors, that’s probably the hardest part. You built such a connection with your caller. We care about them. The hardest calls I’ve had are where I didn’t know what the outcome was,” she said.

Because taking calls at the emergency line is intensive work, crisis counselors are provided assistance to deal with the stress. A wellness coordinator conducts biweekly meetings where staff members can focus on themselves.

“It is a space for us to talk about things like vicarious trauma or our own self-care and coping. It helps so we don’t hold on to things. They also help us get connected with ongoing counseling support, if need be,” Nachreiner said.

There are close to 40 crisis counselors at the Salish Regional Crisis Line. Each has a bachelor’s degree, most in social work, psychology or human services. All are credentialed through the state Department of Health. Four to six counselors work the phones each shift.