The ALGEE action plan for mental health is a five-step guide from Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) that teaches non-clinicians how to help someone in a mental health or substance use crisis. The letters stand for Approach and assess for risk of suicide or harm, Listen non-judgmentally, Give reassurance and information, Encourage appropriate professional help, and Encourage self-help and other support strategies.1Mental Health First Aid. Using the 5-Step MHFA Action Plan: How ALGEE Helps in Mental Health and Substance Use Challenges You are not replacing a professional. You are keeping someone stable until the right help arrives.
Step 1: Approach and Assess for Risk
Find a suitable time and place that gives the person privacy, and open with genuine concern rather than alarm. If they are not ready to talk to you, encourage them to reach out to someone they do trust.1Mental Health First Aid. Using the 5-Step MHFA Action Plan: How ALGEE Helps in Mental Health and Substance Use Challenges Pushing past someone’s boundaries at this stage usually shuts the door.
Once you are in the conversation, watch for signs the person may be at risk of hurting themselves or someone else. Cues can be direct or indirect. A direct cue is someone saying they want to end their life. Indirect cues include giving away prized possessions, withdrawing from everyone, expressing hopelessness about the future, sudden mood shifts, or reckless behavior.
Asking directly about suicidal thoughts is uncomfortable, but it is one of the most effective things you can do. Research-backed screening tools like the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) use plain, specific questions such as “Have you had any thoughts of killing yourself?” and “Have you been thinking about how you might do this?”2Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. C-SSRS Screen Version Asking clearly and without judgment does not plant the idea of suicide. It gives the person permission to be honest. Take any expressed intent seriously.
Step 2: Listen Non-Judgmentally
Your primary job now is to listen. Full attention. Put the phone away, keep comfortable eye contact, and let them talk without jumping in with advice or corrections. Most people in distress do not need solutions in the moment. They need to feel heard.
Show you are engaged through small signals. A nod, a brief “I hear you,” or a reflective statement like “It sounds like that’s been really overwhelming” tells the person their experience is being received, not evaluated. Do not rush to fill silences. Sometimes the most important things come after a pause.
Dismissive language destroys trust fastest. Phrases like “everyone goes through that” or “at least it’s not as bad as…” minimize what the person is feeling, even when kindly meant. The same goes for rushing to fix the problem.
Step 3: Give Reassurance and Information
Once the person feels heard, you can offer reassurance. That does not mean empty positivity or false promises. It means validating their experience: their feelings make sense given what they are going through, and struggling with mental health or substance use does not make them weak or broken. Isolation amplifies every mental health challenge, and simply knowing they are not alone can be genuinely therapeutic.
Share accurate information when it fits naturally. If someone describes what sound like symptoms of depression or panic attacks, you might mention that these are common, treatable conditions that millions of people manage successfully. Do not diagnose. You are a first aider, not a clinician. The goal is to replace fear and uncertainty with general knowledge about what help looks like and how recovery works.
People in crisis often believe their situation is permanent and unique. Gently conveying that effective treatments exist, and that people do recover, can shift someone’s willingness to take the next step.
Step 4: Encourage Appropriate Professional Help
The person you are helping likely needs professional care, and your role is to make that feel less intimidating. Mention specific options rather than vague suggestions. A primary care doctor can do an initial evaluation. A licensed therapist provides talk therapy. A psychiatrist can help with medication if needed.
Offer concrete assistance rather than leaving it at “you should see someone.” Help them search for therapists who accept their insurance, sit with them while they make the first call, or offer to drive them to an appointment. These small gestures remove friction that stops many people from following through.
When to Use 988 Versus 911
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available around the clock by call, text, or chat. It connects people with trained counselors who provide emotional support, crisis de-escalation, and referrals to local resources.3SAMHSA. 988 Factsheet The service covers more than suicidal thoughts. It responds to substance use crises, emotional distress, anxiety, and anyone who simply needs someone to talk to.4988 Lifeline. 988 Lifeline Use 988 when someone is in emotional distress, having suicidal thoughts, or struggling with substance use but is not in immediate physical danger.5SAMHSA. 988 Frequently Asked Questions
Call 911 when physical danger is already present: a suicide attempt in progress, a suspected overdose, or when someone has a specific plan they intend to carry out immediately and has the means to do so. If you are unsure, 988 counselors can activate 911 on your behalf when the situation warrants it. A small percentage of 988 calls do result in emergency dispatch, typically with the caller’s consent.5SAMHSA. 988 Frequently Asked Questions
Insurance and the Cost of Care
Cost is one of the biggest reasons people avoid professional help. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) requires most health plans to cover mental health and substance use treatment the same way they cover medical and surgical care. Copays, deductibles, visit limits, and prior authorization requirements for therapy or psychiatric care cannot be more restrictive than those applied to a doctor’s visit for a physical condition.6U.S. Department of Labor. Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Updated rules strengthening these protections took effect for most plans by January 2026.7U.S. Department of Labor. New Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Rules: What They Mean for Providers
Step 5: Encourage Self-Help and Other Support
Professional treatment works best alongside daily habits that protect mental health. Suggest practices the person might explore between appointments: regular physical activity, consistent sleep routines, mindfulness or breathing exercises, and staying connected with people who care about them. These are not replacements for professional care. They build resilience.
Peer support groups can be especially powerful. Hearing from others who have navigated similar struggles reduces the feeling that something is uniquely wrong. Many communities offer in-person and online groups for depression, anxiety, grief, substance use recovery, and other specific challenges. Even one trusted friend or family member who checks in regularly can make a measurable difference.
Prescription digital therapeutics are also worth mentioning. Several app-based treatments have received FDA clearance for conditions including chronic insomnia, substance use disorders, depression, and generalized anxiety disorder. These are prescribed by clinicians and are increasingly covered by insurance, so they are worth asking about at a professional appointment.
What Not to Do
Knowing what to avoid matters as much as knowing the steps. Mental Health First Aid identifies several common mistakes:8Mental Health First Aid. 7 Things NOT To Do When Helping With a Mental Health Challenge
- Telling someone to “snap out of it.” Depression and anxiety are not choices, and treating them as willpower failures makes the person feel worse.
- Trivializing their experience. Saying “you don’t seem that bad” or “just put a smile on” dismisses what they are going through, even when you mean it as encouragement.
- Being overprotective. Hovering or treating the person as fragile reinforces the feeling that something is fundamentally wrong with them.
- Nagging. Pressuring someone to resume their normal routine before they are ready creates guilt without progress.
- Using a patronizing tone. Speaking to them like a child, or looking at them with exaggerated pity, signals that you see them as broken rather than struggling.
The common thread is substituting your comfort for theirs. When someone’s distress makes you uncomfortable, the instinct is to fix, minimize, or redirect. Resisting that instinct is half the skill.
How to Get MHFA Trained
The ALGEE framework is taught through the official Mental Health First Aid training program, available across the United States in three formats: fully in-person, blended in-person (a mix of online and classroom instruction), and fully virtual.9Mental Health First Aid. Find a Course or Instructor Virtual courses can be taken from anywhere with an internet connection.
Search for upcoming courses by location at mentalhealthfirstaid.org.10Mental Health First Aid. Take Mental Health First Aid Pricing varies by course type and host organization, and some employers, schools, and community organizations offer the training at reduced cost or free. The course covers the ALGEE action plan along with how to recognize the signs of common mental health and substance use challenges, which goes well beyond what any article can provide.