Crisis hotline

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A crisis hotline is a phone number people can call to get immediate emergency telephone counseling, usually by trained volunteers. The first such service was founded in England in 1951 and such hotlines have existed in most major cities of the English speaking world at least since the mid-1970s. Initially set up to help those contemplating suicide, many have expanded their mandate to deal more generally with emotional crises. Similar hotlines operate to help people in other circumstances, including rape, bullying, self-harm, runaway children, human trafficking, and people who identify as LGBT or intersex. Despite crisis hotlines being common, their effectiveness in reducing suicides is not clear. [1] [2]

Contents

Effectiveness

Even though crisis hotlines are common, they have not been well studied for efficacy. [1] [2] One study found that people's thoughts of suicide decreased during a call to a crisis line, and were lessened for several weeks after their call. [3] Some callers frequently call crisis helplines, which can take up time from those with more immediate crises. [4]

History

Suicide prevention sign on the Golden Gate Bridge 2.jpg
Crisis Counseling at Golden Gate Bridge.jpg
As a suicide prevention initiative, these signs on the Golden Gate Bridge promote a special telephone that connects to a crisis hotline, as well as a 24/7 crisis text line.
A poster for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (under its former name, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline), a crisis line in the United States and Canada Lifelinelogo.svg
A poster for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (under its former name, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline), a crisis line in the United States and Canada

Such services began in 1953, when Chad Varah, an English vicar, founded The Samaritans service, which soon established branches throughout the United Kingdom. The first Samaritans branch in the United States was established in Boston in 1974. [5] In addition to Boston, there are currently Samaritan branches in Falmouth, Massachusetts (serving the Cape Cod and Islands area), [6] the Merrimack Valley, [7] and the Fall River/New Bedford area. [8] Outside of Massachusetts, there are branches in New York City, [9] Providence, [10] Hartford, [11] Albany, [12] and Keene, New Hampshire. [13]

In the United States, the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center was founded in 1958 and was the first in the country to provide a 24-hour suicide prevention crisis line and use community volunteers in providing hotline service. [14] Bernard Mayes started the San Francisco Suicide Prevention with a hotline named "Call Bruce" in 1962. [15] [16] A similar service, Lifeline, was established in Australia in 1963.

Another service, the volunteer-run crisis helpline Lifelink Samaritans Tas. Inc, originally called Launceston Lifelink, was established in 1968 by concerned citizens of Launceston, Tasmania, who decided to create a phone service based on the principles of The Samaritans. The rationale was that people often become suicidal because they cannot discuss their emotional pain with family and friends.

This service provides emotional support 24 hours a day to people throughout Tasmania and does not have any religious affiliations. The organization is a member of Befrienders Worldwide and has a "twinning" relationship with Northampton Samaritans in the UK. Lifelink Samaritans is the oldest telephone befriending service in Tasmania and the fourth oldest in Australia and receives at least 5,000 calls a year. In December 2018 Lifelink Samaritans celebrated 50 years of service. [17]

Telephone counseling

An operator for Sweden's Mind Sjalvmordslinjen (suicide prevention hotline) at work. MIND 04 W.jpg
An operator for Sweden's Mind Självmordslinjen (suicide prevention hotline) at work.

Telephone emotional support and crisis hotlines provide a similar telephone support service, and both usually accept crisis and non-crisis calls. In the United States, many college campuses have established telephone counseling lines serviced by volunteers. These hotlines serve callers in crisis, but also serve to provide a listening ear for people who "just need to talk". Typically, hotlines are staffed by trained professionals, and are not intended to replace professional, long-term counseling services. They are rather intended to carry callers through an immediate situation. Such hotlines exist at the University of Maryland, [18] the University of Minnesota, [19] Tufts University, [20] Columbia University, [21] Cornell University, [22] Drexel University, [23] Caldwell University, [24] and Texas A&M University. [25]

The term "emotional support helpline" is sometimes used – which does not imply crisis or counseling, and can include email and text messaging. Such services have allowed for the wider dissemination of resources for people facing mental health crises.

With developments in mobile telephony, the use of text or SMS (short message service) has been utilized by counseling services. Youthline, a youth-oriented crisis helpline in New Zealand, began providing a text messaging counseling support line in 2004. [26]

Contact details

CountryOrganization/Purpose/FocusHotline/Resource
Australia Lifeline offers 24/7 crisis support and suicide prevention services by phone. The organisation also has an online chat service. [27] 13 11 14
AustraliaSuicide Call Back Service is a nationwide service that provides professional 24/7 telephone and online counselling to people who are affected by suicide. In addition, the organisation also provides online chat and video chat services [28] 1300 659 467
Australia Beyond Blue provides nationwide information and support regarding anxiety, depression, and suicide. The helpline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition, the organisation also provides online chat. [29] 1300 22 46 36
Australia Kids Helpline is a 24-hour nationwide service that provides access to crisis support, suicide prevention and counselling services for Australians aged 5–25. In addition the Kids Helpline does also provide online chat services. [30] 1800 55 1800
Brazil Centro de Valorização da Vida (CVV) [31] 188
Mexico Consejo Psicológico e Intervención en Crisis por Teléfono (SAPTEL) is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.0155 5259-8121
India Muktaa Mental Health Helpline is available from 12-8 PM IST.0788-788-9882
New Zealand The Lowdown, website developed by the New Zealand Ministry of Health aimed at young New Zealanders suffering from depression [32] 0800 111 757 (depression); 0800 37 66 33 (general youth issues)
United Kingdom and Ireland Samaritans provides a hotline providing emotional support in the UK and Ireland.116 123
Canada Talk Suicide Canada, a 24/7 hotline for callers in the Canada [33] 1-833-456-4566
45645 (Text, 4 p.m. to midnight ET only); 988 service TBD [34]
United States United Way, a hotline for accessing local services [35] 211 [36]
United States (participating cities)Hotline for non-emergency municipal services 311 [37]
United States and Canada (regional)Hotline for road and traffic conditions 511 [38]
United StatesThe 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, a 24/7 hotline for callers in the United States [39] 988 [40]
United States TDD/TTY services at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 711 or a preferred relay service then 988
United States National Runaway Safeline, hotline and live chat for runaway, homeless, and at-risk youth1-800-RUNAWAY
(1-800-786-2929)
United States US Veterans Crisis Hotline [41] 988
Then press 1 when prompted
United StatesAn American hotline aimed principally at LGBT teenagers, run by The Trevor Project [42] 866-48-TREVOR
(866-488-7386)
United StatesAmerican anonymous youth violence reporting hotline created by The Center to Prevent Youth Violence [43] 1-866-SPEAK-UP
(1-866-773-2587)
United StatesThe Boys Town National Hotline, a 24/7 hotline staffed by specially trained Boys Town counselors [44] 1-800-448-3000
United States, Canada, United KingdomA free, 24/7 SMS Hotline providing emotional support for those in crisis provided by Crisis Text Line. In Canada, the service is also provided with a partnership by Kids Help Phone. In the U.K, Shout, an affiliate to the hotline that was founded by the Royal Foundation, operates in the U.K.741-741 (United States)
686-868 (Canada)
85258 (United Kingdom)

The Volunteer Emotional Support Helplines (VESH) represents 1200 member centres in 61 countries. It has been formed by:

See also

Related Research Articles

Samaritans is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress, struggling to cope or at risk of suicide throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, often through its telephone helpline. Its name derives from the biblical Parable of the Good Samaritan although the organisation itself is not religious.

Nightline is the name given to various confidential and anonymous overnight listening, emotional support, information, and supplies services, run by students for students at universities all over the world. Individual Nightlines in the UK are autonomous organisations, but are affiliated with the Nightline Association, an umbrella organisation founded to facilitate cooperation between Nightlines and enable good practices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suicide prevention</span> Collective efforts to reduce the incidence of suicide

Suicide prevention is a collection of efforts to reduce the risk of suicide. Suicide is often preventable, and the efforts to prevent it may occur at the individual, relationship, community, and society level. Suicide is a serious public health problem that can have long-lasting effects on individuals, families, and communities. Preventing suicide requires strategies at all levels of society. This includes prevention and protective strategies for individuals, families, and communities. Suicide can be prevented by learning the warning signs, promoting prevention and resilience, and committing to social change.

Telephone counseling refers to any type of psychological service performed over the telephone. Telephone counseling ranges from individual, couple or group psychotherapy with a professional therapist to psychological first aid provided by para-professional counselors. In-person therapists often advise clients to make use of telephone crisis counseling to provide the client with an avenue to obtain support outside of therapy if they cannot be reached in an emergency or at the conclusion of a therapeutic relationship.

Suicide intervention is a direct effort to prevent a person or persons from attempting to take their own life or lives intentionally.

A helpline, or switchboard, is a telephone service which offers help to those who call. Many helpline services now offer more than telephone support - offering access to information, advice or customer service via telephone, email, web or SMS. The word hotline is also sometimes used to refer to a helpline. A helpline can provide emotional support to a person in distress in its minimalistic form. It may help the individual.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong</span>

The Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong (SBHK) is a non-government organisation. It is a local voluntary agency which provides counselling services to people with suicidal tendencies or behaviour. This organisation was the first of its kind in Asia.

Kids Helpline is a free Australian telephone and online counselling service for young people aged between 5 and 25. Counsellors respond to more than 6,000 calls each week about issues ranging from relationship breakdown and bullying to sexual abuse, homelessness, suicidal thoughts, depression and drug and alcohol usage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline</span> United States suicide prevention hotline

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a suicide prevention network of over two hundred crisis centers in the United States that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the telephone number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. The call is routed to the nearest crisis center to receive immediate counseling and local mental health referrals. The Lifeline supports people who call for their own crisis or for someone they care about.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lifeline (crisis support service)</span>

Lifeline is a non-profit organisation that provides free, 24-hour telephone crisis support service in Australia. Volunteer crisis supporters provide suicide prevention services, mental health support and emotional assistance, not only via telephone but face-to-face and online.

Volunteer Emotional Support Helplines (VESH) is a planned combined international network of telephone counseling services being formed by the three largest international services. In their roles of emotional support service networks, they have agreed to develop a more effective and robust international interface.

Befrienders Worldwide is a charity that helps people who are considering suicide or experiencing general emotional distress. They have 349 emotional support centres in 32 countries, reaching an estimated 7 million people each year. Volunteers listen without judging people or telling them what to do, and can be contacted by phone, email, SMS, internet chat or in person, dependent on location.

Switchboard of Miami, Inc., commonly referred to as Switchboard, was a private, nonprofit and registered 501(c)(3) organization located in Miami, Florida, United States that provided Miami-Dade County with comprehensive telephone counseling and referral services to thousands of social service programs beginning in 1968. The organization also offered counseling services and prevention programs, such as initiatives aimed at assisting high-risk youth and their families through partnerships with local schools. Since 1968, these services have been offered to the community at no charge. Callers can seek advice confidentially, as no information is needed by the company in order to receive the services. Switchboard shut down in 2016 following a "major financial emergency".

The Samaritans Hong Kong operates a free 24-hour multilingual suicide prevention hotline in Hong Kong. [It] is a non-religious charity that provides confidential emotional support to all people, irrespective of race, creed, age or status, who are despairing or suicidal." The organisation is registered as a charity in Hong Kong, and governed by its unpaid volunteers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samaritans of Singapore</span> Suicide prevention centre

Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) is a non denominational, non-profit suicide prevention centre. Since its establishment in 1969, SOS has developed into a professionally run and managed organisation. It adopts a holistic approach to suicide, focussing on suicide prevention, intervention and postvention.

Vandrevala Foundation is an NGO established by Cyrus Vandrevala and Priya Vandrevala in 2008. In 2009, the foundation launched the "Mental Health - India" initiative to raise awareness and provide services for emotionally distressed individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaan Pete Roi</span> Emotional support helpline in Bangladesh

Kaan Pete Roi is an emotional support helpline in Bangladesh.

Crisis Text Line is a global nonprofit organization providing free and confidential text-based mental health support and crisis intervention by texting HOME to 741741. The organization launched in 2013, and its services are available 24 hours a day throughout the United States, Canada, UK, and Ireland. As of August 2023, the organization reported that it had supported over 8 million support conversations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suicide in Hong Kong</span>

In 2017, the suicide rate in Hong Kong was around 12 deaths per 100,000 people and ranked 32 in the world standing, which was its lowest rate in four years. The suicide rate for males was nearly double that for females, as it was 16.2 deaths per 100,000 males, and 8.8 deaths per 100,000 females. Although it has decreased slightly compared to previous years, for those aged 19 or younger it has risen by 50%. The Samaritans Hong Kong charity has described the issues as worthy of attention.

References

  1. 1 2 Sakinofsky I (June 2007). "The current evidence base for the clinical care of suicidal patients: strengths and weaknesses". Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 52 (6 Suppl 1): 7S–20S. PMID   17824349. Other suicide prevention strategies that have been considered are crisis centres and hotlines, method control, and media education... There is minimal research on these strategies. Even though crisis centres and hotlines are used by suicidal youth, information about their impact on suicidal behaviour is lacking.
  2. 1 2 Zalsman G, Hawton K, Wasserman D, van Heeringen K, Arensman E, Sarchiapone M, et al. (July 2016). "Suicide prevention strategies revisited: 10-year systematic review". The Lancet. Psychiatry. 3 (7): 646–59. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30030-X. PMID   27289303. Other approaches that need further investigation include gatekeeper training, education of physicians, and internet and helpline support.
  3. ↑ Preventing Suicide: A Technical Package of Policy, Programs, and Practices (PDF). CDC. 2017. p. 7. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  4. ↑ Middleton, Aves; Gunn, Jane; Bassilios, Bridget; Pirkis, Jane (February 11, 2014). "Systematic review of research into frequent callers to crisis helplines". Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare. 20 (2): 89–98. doi: 10.1177/1357633X14524156 . PMID   24518928.
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  19. ↑ "Crisis Connection". www.umn.edu. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
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  21. ↑ "Nightline: Barnard-Columbia Peer Listening". www.columbia.edu. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  22. ↑ "EARS - Empathy, Assistance & Referral Service". ears.dos.cornell.edu. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
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  39. ↑ "Home". Lifeline. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  40. ↑ "New Law Creates 988 Hotline For Mental Health Emergencies". NPR.org. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  41. ↑ "Veterans Crisis Hotline - Hotline & Online Chat" . Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  42. ↑ "Lifeline & Trevor Chat". Archived from the original on November 27, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  43. ↑ "SPEAK UP Hotline Info". Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
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