Mental health is sensitive, and patient safety comes first. Heron is not a therapist and does not provide medical or therapeutic advice.
Instead, it can be trained to recognize explicit mental health crisis phrases and immediately respond with safe guidance and emergency resources.
⚙️ How to Set Up Mental Health Trigger Phrases
Go to Heron Dashboard → Settings → Custom FAQs.
Click Add Another to create a new entry.
In Full question patients might ask, add explicit mental health callouts, such as:
“I feel depressed”
“I want to hurt myself”
“I don’t want to live anymore”
“I am having suicidal thoughts”
In The response Heron should give, add a safe and supportive message. Example:
“I’m really sorry you’re feeling this way. If you are in immediate danger, please dial 111 right now.
You can also call 0800 111 757 (New Zealand’s free mental health helpline) to talk to someone immediately.”Save your changes.
Repeat the process for different ways patients may express a crisis, so all variations are covered.
✅ Best Practices
Always include your local emergency number in the response.
Add the number for your country’s mental health crisis helpline (e.g., 0800 111 757 in New Zealand).
Keep the response short, compassionate, and directive.
Review and update trigger phrases regularly to ensure coverage.
Train staff so they know Heron flags and logs all mental health-related inquiries for follow-up.
👉 With explicit callout handling in place, Heron ensures that patients in crisis receive immediate, safe instructions — and your clinic can rest assured that these sensitive situations are managed responsibly.