My T and my pdoc are both available and pretty easily accessible in a crisis, and I certainly have had my share over the last 8 years. Rarely are these kinds of crises a surprise, particularly to my T as he sees me more frequently than my pdoc, so usually he is well aware that I am headed in that direction before I ever make a call.

If I need his help after work hours, I call his answering service and they relay a message to him. He usually returns my calls almost immediately. I rarely have to call after hours, but if need be, that is the procedure. Usually he just talks to me and assesses if I am safe or not. If I am, he gives me some time and suggestions for coping in that moment, and asks me to see him the next day. If he feels I am not safe, he usually asks to speak to my husband and asks me to go to the hospital if need be. My pdoc's system is very much the same except that the initial callback might be from a different pdoc in his practice as they take shifts being on call after hours (I suspect pdocs have far more "real" crises to deal with). Usually after the on call pdoc speaks to me, they contact my own pdoc and he calls me personally.

My T and pdoc are excellent in handling serious crises. They've stuck by me now for 8 years of multiple crises and hospitalizations.