ORCA (Organizing and Responding to Crisis for Alameda youth) is a suicide-focused, short term, individual therapy service. This service is for Alameda County youth 25 years and under who are experiencing thoughts and motivations to suicide. While providing individual therapy, the ORCA clinician will collaborate with caregivers and other important people in the client’s life with a goal to keep them safe and avoid hospitalization. This therapy service will incorporate an evidence based framework called CAMS (collaborative assessment and management of suicidality).
We are not able to provide immediate crisis response such as 988 or mobile crisis. We aim to provide a rapid response within a Monday- Friday schedule.
This is a free service funded by the Department of Public Health.
FAQ for Youth
- Do my parents/ caregivers need to know?
Although our main goal is to support you in your suicidal thoughts and feelings, we recognize that involving parents, caregivers and/or chosen family is an important part of the safety planning and healing process. We ask parents/caregivers to participate in a two hour initial safety planning/assessment meeting and that they are in contact with the ORCA clinician on a weekly basis. If you are over 12 years old you can contact us and we will work with you to create a strategy to involve others. - Where do services take place?
ORCA Clinicians can travel and offer services in Alameda county. We like to meet you where you are- either in your home, at school, local park, or even online if that is the best way to connect with you. We also can provide sessions at our office located in North Oakland. - I already have a therapist, can I still get services?
Because ORCA services are suicide stabilization-specific and provided as a short term support, you could continue to see your current therapist and receive ORCA services as an add-on service. If you have a therapist already, we would love to get your permission to work collaboratively with them and they would remain your primary therapist or “therapist of record.” We would coordinate our care to involve them in your safety planning. - Will you make me go to the hospital?
ORCA therapy services are specifically aimed to help you find your own safety without having to go to the hospital. Safety means not only staying safe in this moment, but also changing your relationship with suicide and finding a pathway to a life worth living. We are still legally and ethically obligated to consider hospitalization if you are in clear and imminent danger of suicide, and are unwilling or unable to engage in safety planning to reduce risk. - I’m worried about my friend because they keep talking about suicide, but I don’t know if they really mean it. Should I tell them about this service?
Yes, you can tell your friend about our services, and they can call (800) 260-0094. An ORCA clinician will call them back in a couple of days.
If your friend is in immediate crisis and needs to talk with someone right now, they can call 988 no matter what time or day it is. Someone will be there to answer the phone. - What is CAMS?
CAMS (The Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality) is a treatment framework that our ORCA therapists have been trained in. You and your ORCA therapist will talk together about the thoughts and feelings that makes suicide seem like an option. Many youth and adults have gone through the CAMS treatment and have chosen to live. To learn more about the CAMS framework, please visit: https://cams-care.com - How is ORCA different from other therapeutic interventions?
The ORCA program is a suicide specific therapy and we will be talking about all of the things that might make you feel like suicide is an option for you. Over our time together, your relationship to suicide may change and that is how we will know that it is time to end. You may decide to start therapy with another therapist for support around other life challenges.
FAQ for Caregivers
- How involved can I be in my youth’s care?
Feelings of suicide can be painful, frightening and oftentimes there can be tender feelings of shame and worry about talking about these feelings with our loved ones. Youth often feel a sense of relief and safety when they know adults and loved ones are working together to help keep them safe. Involving parents, caregivers and/or chosen family is an important part of the safety planning and healing process.
We ask parents/caregivers to participate in a two hour initial safety planning/assessment meeting and to be in contact with the ORCA clinician on a weekly basis. Although our program is focused on supporting youth, we see the caregivers as experts for their children. - Where do services take place?
ORCA clinicians can travel and offer services in Alameda county. We like to meet you where you and your loved one are, either in your home, at school, a local park, or even online, if that is the best way to connect with you. We also can provide sessions at our office, located in North Oakland. - My child already has a therapist. Can they still get services?
Because ORCA services are suicide stabilization-specific and provided as a short term support, you can continue to see your current therapist and receive ORCA services as an add-on service. If your loved one has a therapist already, we would love to get your permission to work collaboratively with them. They would remain your child’s primary therapist or “therapist of record,” and care would be coordinated so that they would participate in safety planning. - Will you hospitalize my child or place them on an involuntary hold?
ORCA therapy services are specifically aimed to help youth find their own safety without having to go to the hospital (safety provided by others). We aim to help youth not only to stay safe in this moment, but to change their relationship with suicide and help them find a pathway to a life worth living. We are still legally and ethically obligated to consider hospitalization if a youth is in clear and imminent danger of suicide, and are unwilling or unable to engage in safety planning to reduce risk. - My young loved one keeps talking about suicide, but I don’t know if they really mean it. Could they benefit from this service?
Suicidal feelings can be thought of as being on the spectrum of intensity and risk. ORCA clinicians are trained to work with your youth to assess for risk and to understand the pain points and motivations to suicide through their eyes. This collaborative assessment informs the need for services, as well as the direction and intensity that the therapy will be provided. We can't say if your youth will benefit, but we have the assessment tools and skills to find out. - What is CAMS?
CAMS (The Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality) is a treatment framework in which a client and a clinician work together to keep the patient stable, ideally in outpatient therapy, and identifies the “drivers” that compel the client to take their life. The therapist and the client work on treating those drivers to reduce stress, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation while increasing hope. Clinical research shows that clients like the CAMS Framework® and are more likely to remain in treatment using CAMS. CAMS is “Well Supported” as a clinical intervention for suicidal ideation per CDC criteria and is proven to reduce suicidal ideation in as few as 6 sessions with a trained therapist. For more information see www.CAMS-care.com - How is the ORCA program different from other therapeutic interventions?
The ORCA program is a suicide-specific therapy and we will be addressing the challenges that make it possible for your youth to see suicide as an option. Over the course of treatment, your youth’s relationship to suicide may change, resulting in a decreased risk of dying by suicide. ORCA clinicians will explore with you and your loved one to see if starting with a different therapist to address issues not tied to suicide is appropriate.
FAQ for Community Members
- How do I know if a youth is an appropriate fit for your program?
The ORCA program was created and is funded by Alameda County Public Health Care services in order to address the deficit of suicide focused interventions for youth 25 and under. We aim to support youth who have moderate to severe suicidality. Our program is suicide centered. We aim to help youth decrease their suicidality by addressing the underlying cause of their suicidality. - How involved do parents/caregivers need to be in youth’s care?
We ask parents/caregivers to participate in a two hour initial safety planning/assessment meeting and to be in contact with the ORCA clinician on a weekly basis. Although our program is focused on supporting youth, we see caregivers as the experts of their youth, and an integral part of safety and care for suicidal youth. - Where do services take place?
Orca clinicians can travel and offer services in Alameda county. We like to meet youth where they are, either in their home, at school, a local park, or even online if that is the best way to connect with them. We also can provide sessions at our office located in North Oakland. - My client is already receiving mental health services and/ or I am already providing therapy for my client, can they still get support to decrease suicidal risk?
Because ORCA services are suicide stabilization-specific and provided as short term support, we encourage youth to continue to see their current therapist and receive ORCA services as an add-on service.
If a youth is currently working with you as their therapist, we ask the youth and/or family to sign a release of information to work collaboratively with you. You would remain the youth's primary therapist or "therapist of record," and we would coordinate our care so that all care providers and caregiving adults can participate in safety planning. - Will you hospitalize students/youth or place them on an involuntary hold if they are suicidal?
ORCA therapy services are specifically aimed to help youth find their own safety without having to go to the hospital (safety provided by others). We aim to help youth not only to stay safe in this moment, but to change their relationship with suicide and help them find a pathway to a life worth living. We are still legally and ethically obligated to consider hospitalization if a youth is in clear and imminent danger of suicide, and are unwilling or unable to engage in safety planning to reduce risk. - A student/youth keeps talking about suicide, but I don’t know if they really mean it. Could they benefit from this service?
Suicidal feelings can be thought of as being on the spectrum of intensity and risk. ORCA clinicians are trained to work with your youth to assess for risk and to understand the pain points and motivations to suicide through their eyes. This collaborative assessment informs the need for services, as well as the direction and intensity that the therapy will be provided. We can't say if your youth will benefit, but we have the assessment tools and skills to find out. - What is CAMS?
- CAMS (The Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality) is a treatment framework in which a client and a clinician work together to keep the patient stable, ideally in outpatient therapy, and identifies the “drivers” that compel the client to take their life. The therapist and the client work on treating those drivers to reduce stress, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation while increasing hope. Clinical research shows that clients like the CAMS Framework® and are more likely to remain in treatment using CAMS. CAMS is “Well Supported” as a clinical intervention for suicidal ideation per CDC criteria and is proven to reduce suicidal ideation in as few as 6 sessions with a trained therapist. For more information see www.CAMS-care.com
- How is the ORCA program different from other therapeutic interventions?
The ORCA program is a suicide-specific therapy and we will be addressing the challenges that make it possible for your youth to see suicide as an option. Over the course of treatment, your youth’s relationship to suicide may change, resulting in a decreased risk of dying by suicide. ORCA clinicians will explore with you and your loved one to see if starting with a different therapist to address issues not tied to suicide is appropriate.
