About
K. Scott Burnham, DO is the author of LIFELINE: What to Do After a Mental Health Crisis, published by Guidestone Publishing. A board-certified emergency physician with 23 years of experience treating acute mental health crises, he brings an unusual dual perspective to the subject: he has been both the clinician stabilizing patients at their lowest moments and a patient navigating the disorienting aftermath of his own crisis.
His work focuses on the gap between crisis stabilization and real recovery — the period after discharge that the healthcare system rarely addresses and that patients and families are left to navigate alone. LIFELINE grew directly from that gap: from watching thousands of people leave the emergency room with a discharge summary and a list of phone numbers, and from living that experience himself.
He has written for KevinMD and spoken with healthcare professionals and patient communities about what post-crisis recovery actually requires. A companion volume addressing teen mental health is in development.
He lives in northwest Ohio with his wife.
Featured Work
LIFELINE- What To Do After A Mental Health Crisis
LIFELINE: What to Do After a Mental Health Crisis is a practical guide for patients, families, and caregivers navigating the difficult period after a mental health crisis. Written by a board-certified emergency physician who has treated thousands of crises and survived his own, it addresses the gap between hospital discharge and real recovery — providing concrete guidance on building a treatment team, developing daily coping tools, and creating sustainable long-term support.
