FAQ

NYC Well is New York City’s free, confidential support, crisis intervention, and information and referral service for anyone seeking help for mental health and/or substance misuse concerns, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

NYC Well is operated by Vibrant Emotional Health on behalf of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

A trained counselor or peer support specialist will listen to your concerns or help you through a crisis and give you the support, resources, and referrals you need to move forward and be well.

Yes. NYC Well offers talk, text and chat in English, Spanish and Mandarin/Cantonese. NYC Well also offers telephone interpretation in over 200 languages.

NYC Well focuses on helping people get support and find the services that best meet their needs in New York City.

NYC Well is a confidential service that you can use anonymously. If we are concerned about your safety or the safety of others, or otherwise as required by law, we may provide information to public safety workers, like police dispatch or an emergency medical team, so they can make sure everyone stays safe. All contacts are recorded for quality control purposes and ordinarily destroyed after ninety days.

Click here for the full privacy policy.

NYC Well brochures can be ordered by calling 311 or the Provider Access Line at 866-692-3641. Digital versions of the brochure can be accessed here

For a list of current vacancies for NYC Well please visit Vibrant Emotional Health Careers. NYC Well is looking for talented individuals interested in a career in mental health. We are hiring for:

• Bachelors, Masters level and Licensed counselors
• Bachelors and Masters level peer support specialists

Mandarin, Cantonese and Spanish speaking individuals are encouraged to apply.

Yes.  Currently, the internship program is only working with Social Work programs.  Please reach out to your respective Field Placement Office to see if a partnership is already in place. Interns will be part of the Lifeline team, assisting in supporting callers using brief supportive therapy, psychoeducation, de-escalation, collaborative problem solving, assessments, crisis intervention, and emergency outreach.

NYC Well is a member of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (a national network of 200+ crisis centers funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and administered by Vibrant Emotional Health). NYC Well serves as the 988 hub for calls from New York City area code callers.

Q: Is the internship in person or remote?

A: NYC Well is fully remote. If a return to the office does happen, the method of visitor contact remains the same; all work is done over the telephone, and there is no face-to-face visitor contact.

Q: If I were to have my placement here, what is expected?

A: When an intern logs on for their shift(s), they place themselves on ‘available,’ which means they are able to receive calls. Calls are routed to the next available counselor(s) automatically. While the Lifeline is active, interns will experience ‘downtime’ during their shifts. While they are waiting for the next call, interns are able to work on items such as process recordings, web-based learning courses, review of clinically relevant articles and webinars, and complete AI-based interactions. These are a sampling of the options interns can complete independently, as well as with support from their Supervisor in determining a schedule of tasks to complete. Interns meet with their Supervisor weekly, and also have access to the full Clinical Supervisory team. This supports interns when they need to have an ad hoc session to process a difficult interaction, need a Mobile Crisis Team referral reviewed, or have other clinical or procedural questions; they do not have to wait on scheduled Supervision to have questions answered.

Q: What training is required?

A: There are 5 weeks of Training, which is mandatory. The first three weeks (about 13 days that runs across 3 weeks) are in classroom (Zoom) sessions where the Training Department provides an overview of the contact center, the 6 Stages of the call which are used to work with and assess callers, risk levels, activation of emergency interventions, group discussions, role plays, etc. The fourth and fifth weeks, interns move into role play and live monitoring.

Q: Where can I direct other internship-related questions?

A: Please direct additional internship inquires to Mari Timpanaro, Clinical Manager at mtimpanaro@vibrant.org

Please submit all press and media inquiries regarding NYC Well or ThriveNYC using our Contact Us form. In the field Area of Interest, please select “media requests.” In your message, please include details of your inquiry, your publication, and contact information.

Peer Support Specialists are individuals who have experienced their own mental health or substance misuse challenges. Peer Specialists have specialized training to incorporate lessons from their journey in helping you move through difficult times. Peer Support Specialists know firsthand how important it is to have someone who can listen and support you in the journey of improving your life.

For a list of current vacancies please visit Vibrant Emotional Health Careers. We are hiring for:

• Bachelors and Masters level peer support specialists

Mandarin, Cantonese and Spanish speaking individuals are encouraged to apply.

The Find Services search engine includes a collection of behavioral health, and supporting services (substance use, housing, legal, social and community services) within the five boroughs. It does not currently include therapists or providers in private practice. See here for a comprehensive description of our inclusion/exclusion policies.

The search engine allows you to filter your search results by program focus, age eligibility, payment eligibility (insurance) and geographic location.

You can search for help using everyday language. You can search using terms that express how you are feeling, or using a description of the condition you are seeking support for.  Typing more words will narrow your results, so if you are seeing too few results try removing words, or using a broader term. If you are having trouble finding help using the Find Services search tool, you can call (1-888-NYC-WELL (692-9355)),  text (Text WELL to 65173)  or chat 24 hours a day for help from one of our counselors.

To suggest a resource for us to add, or to update an existing resource in the “Find Services” database, please use this form.

You can make a complaint or give a compliment here.