Telephone counseling
Encyclopedia
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.
. However, many lines also accept calls from people who are not in active suicidal crisis. The term "emotional support helpline" is sometimes used to avoid the implication that a caller must be in crisis to use services. Some emotional support services employ email & messaging technologies.
, 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.
, 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.
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. Counselors at locally operated suicide hotlines are trained in emergency services and acquainted with local resources.
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
. 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.
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. 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. A 2002 study found that phone counseling clients rate their counseling relationship similarly to in-person clients. Phone counseling has been established as an effective treatment for diagnoses ranging from depression to agoraphobia.Crisis hotlines
"Crisis" hotlines also provide telephone support services. These may be state-funded or provided by churches or charities and often serve the primary function of suicide preventionSuicide prevention
Suicide prevention is an umbrella term for the collective efforts of local citizen organizations, mental health practitioners and related professionals to reduce the incidence of suicide....
. However, many lines also accept calls from people who are not in active suicidal crisis. The term "emotional support helpline" is sometimes used to avoid the implication that a caller must be in crisis to use services. Some emotional support services employ email & messaging technologies.
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 specialise in offering information, support, advice or counselling to people 18 years of age or younger. Child Helpline InternationalChild helpline international
Child Helpline International is a global network of telephone helplines and outreach services for children and young people. Working in over 150 countries, CHI was founded on the belief that children and young people have rights, and that they alone are the best individuals to identify their...
, 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
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
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 geographyGeography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
, 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
Anonymity
Anonymity is derived from the Greek word ἀνωνυμία, anonymia, meaning "without a name" or "namelessness". In colloquial use, anonymity typically refers to the state of an individual's personal identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown.There are many reasons why a...
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.
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. Counselors at locally operated suicide hotlines are trained in emergency services and acquainted with local resources.
Examples of nonprofit telephone counseling services
- The Volunteer Emotional Support HelplinesVolunteer Emotional Support HelplinesVolunteer Emotional Support Helplines is a planned combined international network of telephone counseling services being formed by the 3 largest international services...
(VESH) is an organisation representing helplines in 61 countries. It has been formed by - Befrienders Worldwide (maintained by Samaritans UK)
- IFOTES - International Federation of Telephone Emergency Services, and
- Lifeline International
- New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
has a community-based, youth-oriented Telephone counseling service, YouthlineYouthlineYouthline began as a Telephone counseling Helpline run by youth, for youth in 1970. Today Youthline provides a nationally linked youth development organisation, providing a range of services.-About:...
. Based in 11 local centers around the country, YouthlineYouthlineYouthline began as a Telephone counseling Helpline run by youth, for youth in 1970. Today Youthline provides a nationally linked youth development organisation, providing a range of services.-About:...
enlists 1100 volunteers nationwide (100 of whom are working in an online context). - New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
also has a professional child helpline, 0800WHATSUP, that employs paid counsellors to answer calls from children and young people aged between 5 and 18 years. - AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
has a national Telephone counseling service, LifelineLifeline (Counselling service)Lifeline is a free, 24 hour telephone counselling service in Australia. Volunteer counsellors provide suicide prevention, crisis support and mental health services via telephone. This service can be accessed by calling 13 11 14 within Australia....
. Also, the larger cities in Australia have other specialised Telephone counseling services, for example: domestic violenceDomestic violenceDomestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
, war-victims, youth, gamblingGamblingGambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
, finances, substance abuseSubstance abuseA substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...
, parenting or child care. - The United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
has a government-funded suicide preventionSuicide preventionSuicide prevention is an umbrella term for the collective efforts of local citizen organizations, mental health practitioners and related professionals to reduce the incidence of suicide....
hotline called the National Suicide Prevention LifelineNational Suicide Prevention LifelineThe National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK is a suicide prevention network of 132 crisis centers in the United States, that provides a 24-hour, toll-free hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. After dialing 1-800-273-TALK, the caller is routed to their...
, which provides 24/7 crisis intervention counseling to suicidal callers. It involves thousands of volunteers at over 120 crisis centers nationwide. It also has a 24/7 National Domestic Violence HotlineNational Domestic Violence HotlineThe National Domestic Violence Hotline is a 24-hour, confidential, toll-free hotline created through the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act. Hotline staff immediately connect the caller to a service provider in his or her area...
. - In the United Kingdom, well known helplines include ChildLineChildLineChildLine is a free 24 hour counselling service for children and young people up to 18 in the UK provided by the NSPCC. ChildLine deals with any issue which causes distress or concern, common issues dealt with include child abuse, bullying, parental separation or divorce, pregnancy and substance...
and The Samaritans. There are a range of specialist helplines for victims of rape, sexual violence and sexual abuse run by third sector organisations, many of which are brought together through membership of The Survivors TrustThe Survivors TrustThe Survivors Trust is a national umbrella agency for over 125 specialist voluntary sector agencies throughout the UK and Ireland providing a range of counselling, therapeutic and support services working with women, men and children who are victims/survivors of rape, sexual violence and sexual...
network. - In Canada Naseeha is the first Muslim youth helpline.
- In India, Childline India FoundationChildline India FoundationCHILDLINE India Foundation is a non-profit organization that function as a nodal agency for CHILDLINEs across India. The goal of CIF is to reach out to marginalised children in need of care and protection...
: CHILDLINE "1098" is a non-profit helpline for children.