Telephone counseling

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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.

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Telephone counseling is also provided by crisis hotlines, quitlines, and child helplines.

Professional counseling by telephone

Researchers have begun observing a growing trend in which licensed psychotherapists and psychologists are now seeing at least some of their clients via the telephone. [1] A body of research exists comparing the efficacy of telephone counseling to in-person counseling and to no treatment. A recent study found that more than half of clients (58%) who had experienced both in-person and phone counseling preferred phone counseling. [2] A 2002 study found that phone counseling clients rate their counseling relationship similarly to in-person clients. [3] Phone counseling has been established as an effective treatment for diagnoses ranging from depression [4] to agoraphobia. [5]

Crisis hotlines

Crisis hotlines, also known as helplines, provide telephone support services which often serve the primary function of suicide prevention. However, many of these helplines also accept calls from people who are not in active suicidal crisis, and the term "emotional support helpline" is sometimes used to avoid the implication that a caller must be in crisis to use these services. Some emotional support services employ email and messaging technologies. Crisis hotlines may be state-funded or provided by churches or charities. [6]

Quitlines

Quitlines are helplines that offer advanced treatment for addiction and behavior change. Quitlines should not be confused with centralized call centers offering advice in a wide spectrum of fields for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests.

Child helplines

Child helplines are help and support services for children, run by civil society organizations and or government bodies. Child helplines specialize in offering information, support, advice or counseling to people 18 years of age or younger. Child Helpline International, an international network of child helplines, was formed in 2003 to support the development of child helplines and enable the information gathered by child helplines around the world on children's rights and welfare issues to be assembled for advocacy purposes.

Advantages over in-person therapy

Unlike other forms of counseling, telephone counseling is potentially free of certain constraining factors that affect traditional therapy, including geography, time, duration, and cost, making this form of counseling more accessible for a number of people who would be unable to attend traditional psychotherapy. It also provides a degree of anonymity that is comforting to some callers, reducing the intimidation that some people may feel at the prospect of seeking treatment with a traditional in-person therapist and encouraging disclosure. Also research shows telephone counseling to have better results among patients with depression. [7]

Disadvantages over in-person therapy

Being physically present with your counselor may help you feel more connected with him or her; the telephone may contribute to "distance" in the therapeutic relationship. Some people feel safer letting themselves become emotional in the physical presence of another person.

Because the client often calls from a location that is part of their day-to-day life, calls often center around, or are interrupted by, situational pressures that the person is currently immersed in. This can have both positive and negative effects on the counseling provided; by allowing the counselor some insight into the person's situation, the counselor can be more objective. Conversely, the disruptions and pressures of situational factors may make it difficult for the client to adopt a reflective state or maintain full focus on the counseling session.

In the case of para-professional counseling (meaning a non-licensed therapist), there may not be guaranteed privacy; the electronic technologies involved make it difficult to prevent multiple phone connections, loudspeakers, or recording of the interactions. This fact may present a problem to a paranoid personality who suspects that others are monitoring his or her calls.

If the counseling is provided by an organization staffed by a number of employees or volunteers, a repeat caller cannot develop a relationship with a counselor in the same way as in traditional therapy, which may impede progress. These organizations typically limit calls in time and frequency, preventing deeper analysis and thus the use of therapeutic modalities that depend on it (i.e. psychoanalysis).

Phone counseling is not appropriate for people who are homicidal, suicidal, self injuring, or requiring more care than one session per week. Phone counselors may not be acquainted with local emergency service options. [1] Counselors at locally operated suicide hotlines are trained in emergency services and acquainted with local resources.

Examples of nonprofit telephone counseling services

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psychotherapy</span> Clinically applied psychology for desired behavior change

Psychotherapy is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome problems. Psychotherapy aims to improve an individual's well-being and mental health, to resolve or mitigate troublesome behaviors, beliefs, compulsions, thoughts, or emotions, and to improve relationships and social skills. Numerous types of psychotherapy have been designed either for individual adults, families, or children and adolescents. Certain types of psychotherapy are considered evidence-based for treating some diagnosed mental disorders; other types have been criticized as pseudoscience.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Counseling psychology</span> Counseling theory

Counseling psychology is a psychological specialty that encompasses research and applied work in several broad domains: counseling process and outcome; supervision and training; career development and counseling; and prevention and health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Childline</span> UK youth phone counselling service

Childline is a counselling service for children and young people up to their 19th birthday in the United Kingdom provided by the NSPCC. They deal with any issues which cause distress or concern; some of the most common issues include child abuse, bullying, mental illness, parental separation or divorce, teenage pregnancy, substance misuse, neglect, and psychological abuse.

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 unclear.

Online counseling is a form of professional mental health counseling that is generally performed through the internet. Computer aided technologies are used by the trained professional counsellors and individuals seeking counselling services to communicate rather than conventional face-to-face interactions[17]. Online counselling is also referred to as teletherapy, e-therapy, cyber therapy, or web counselling[18]. Services are typically offered via email, real-time chat, and video conferencing. Some clients use online counseling in conjunction with traditional psychotherapy, or nutritional counseling. An increasing number of clients are using online counseling as a replacement for office visits.

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.

Quitline is a telephone helpline offering treatment for addiction and behavior change/issues. Presently most quitlines treat tobacco or alcohol addiction. Quitlines are treatment centres that offer advanced treatment and should not be confused with call centres.

A mental health counselor (MHC), or counselor, is a person who works with individuals and groups to promote optimum mental and emotional health. Such persons may help individuals deal with issues associated with addiction and substance abuse; family, parenting, and marital problems; stress management; self-esteem; and aging. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics distinguishes "Mental Health Counselors" from "Social Workers", "Psychiatrists", and "Psychologists".

<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.

Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes.

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

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. The caller is routed to their nearest crisis center to receive immediate counseling and local mental health referrals. The Lifeline supports people who call for themselves or 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.

Services for mental health disorders provide treatment, support, or advocacy to people who have psychiatric illnesses. These may include medical, behavioral, social, and legal services.

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Childline South Africa</span>

Childline South Africa is a non-profit organisation which works to protect children from violence and further the culture of children's rights in South Africa. Childline runs a national, 24-hour, toll-free telephone counselling service for children and adults, handling over 1 million calls annually. In addition to the Crisis Line telephone counseling service, Childline also offers services such as online counseling, training programmes for continuous professional development, training on court preparation and workshops on child law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recovering from Religion</span> International non-profit organization

Recovering from Religion (RfR) is an international non-profit organization that helps people who have left religion, are in process of leaving, or are dealing with problems arising out of theistic doubt or non-belief. RfR provides support groups, telephone and chat helplines, an online peer support community, and online meetings for "people in their most urgent time of need". It is headquartered in Kansas City, Kansas.

References

  1. 1 2 Barnett, J.; Scheetz, K. (2003). Technological advances and telehealth: Ethics, law, and the practice of psychotherapy. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training. 40(1-2), 86-93
  2. Reese, R., Conoley, C., Brossart, D. (2006) The Attractiveness of Telephone Counseling: An Empirical Investigation of Client Perceptions. Journal of Counseling & Development. 84:1, 54-60.
  3. Reese, R; Conoley, C.; Brossart, D.(2002). Effectiveness of Telephone Counseling: A Field-Based Investigation. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 49:2, 233-242
  4. Lynch DJ, Tamburrino MB, Nagel R. (1997). Telephone counseling for patients with minor depression: preliminary findings in a family practice setting. J Fam Pract. 44(3):293-8.
  5. Tutty S, Simon G, Ludman E. (2000). Telephone counseling as an adjunct to antidepressant treatment in the primary care system. A pilot study. Eff Clin Pract. 3(4):191-3.
  6. Samaritans. "Email services" . Retrieved 2009-07-11.
  7. Gregory E. Simon et al., "Telephone Psychotherapy and Telephone Care Management for Primary Care Patients Starting Antidepressant Treatment", Journal of the American Medical Association, August 25, 2004, Vol 292, No. 8