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CARTERVILLE - Centerstone has a wide variety of programs for mental health and substance use treatment, and their Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) is a great support for people who are going through crises.
Located in Carterville, Illinois, the CSU offers a voluntary stay of up to ten days to anyone over age 18. Karsen Finney, coordinator of the CSU, said the program has been growing as they connect people with more services throughout the community.
“We are here for folks who are having a hard time or just needing some more support,” Finney said. “We are here to help people through whatever they’re going through at the moment. We can offer medication adjustments and things like that. We do a lot of groups. We focus on coping skills, safety planning, and just getting people back to where they need to be so they can go home and go on about their lives.”
The CSU has eight beds. It is staffed with recovery support specialists, who usually have lived experience and can relate to the clients they work with.
While at the CSU, clients participate in group therapy and receive telepsychiatry services if needed. They also engage with art therapy and other activities that aim to build hobbies and coping skills. Finney said the recovery support specialists encourage clients to think about next steps.
“My recovery specialists are so great at finding that balance between listening and letting people vent and then focusing on moving forward,” Finney said. “We try to help folks reframe and just kind of stay in the moment, because we can only control what we can control, and ultimately that’s our own actions and care for ourselves moving forward.”
Finney noted that what constitutes a crisis can vary from person to person. The CSU offers help for those who are experiencing mental health crises as well as people who are dealing with life crises like a recent breakup or homelessness.
If you’re trying to decide whether or not you’re in a crisis, Finney encourages you to think about your normal level of activity. For example, if you’re usually an active person and you can’t bring yourself to shower for a few days, this could indicate that you’re going through a crisis. Whatever a crisis looks like for you, Finney urges people to reach out for help.
“What I would consider a crisis would be very different from someone else,” Finney said. “Try hard, try so hard to not be afraid of reaching out for help. It’s a big step to take yourself to an ER or to call 911 if you’re having some thoughts…It’s hard to take that step, so my advice is just to try so hard to power through. Just do it, because you know what you need. Deep down, you do.”
If you’re in crisis, you can always call Centerstone’s crisis line at 1-855-608-3560 to speak with a trained crisis counselor and/or be screened for services at the CSU. Centerstone also has a mobile crisis response team, so they can meet you where you’re at in the community. Finney said it usually takes between 24–48 hours to admit someone to the CSU after that initial phone call, though they try to do it within the same day as often as possible.
After a stay in the CSU, Centerstone helps people connect to additional services, whether that’s outpatient therapy, rehabilitation programs, group homes or other resources in the community. You can learn more about the CSU at their official webpage or at RecoverWithUs.org.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
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