Last week provided two grim case studies in how fans, friends and family react to the suicides of beloved celebrities. It also provided a view into something far more obscure: the insights of mental health workers who are on the front line of America’s suicide crisis.

As news of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain’s suicides emerged last week, mental health workers took to The New York Times’s comment section to describe what the crisis looks like to them.

Some talked about how they have reacted to the depression and suicide of their own friends or patients. Others explained the obstacles mental health workers face in trying to do their jobs.

Here is a selection of the comments condensed and lightly edited.