Caught Between Expectations and the Practice Field
Experiences of This Dilemma Among Volunteers Operating a Diaconal Crisis Line in Norway
Abstract
Abstract.Background: Volunteer crisis line responders are a valuable resource for suicide prevention crisis lines worldwide. Aim: The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how volunteers operating a diaconal crisis line in Norway experienced challenges and how these challenges were met. Method: A qualitative, explorative study was conducted. A total of 27 volunteers were interviewed through four focus groups. The material was analyzed using systematic text condensation. Results: The greatest challenge to the volunteers was the perception of a gap between their expectations and the practice field. The experience of many volunteers was that the crisis line primarily served a broad ongoing support function for loneliness or mental illness concerns, rather than a suicide prevention crisis intervention function. Limitations: The focus group design may have made the participants more reluctant to share experiences representing alternative perspectives or personally sensitive information. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that a uniform response to callers using crisis lines as a source of ongoing support is warranted and should be implemented in volunteer training programs.
References
2014).
(Crisis services: The international federation of telephonic emergency services. In D. LesterEd., Suicide prevention: Resources for the millennium (pp. 274–282). New York, NY: Brunner-Routledge.1994). Correspondence as adjunct to crisisline intervention in a suicide prevention center. Crisis, 15(2), 65–68, 76.
(1964). Principles of preventive psychiatry. New York, NY: Basic Books.
(2012). Callers' experiences of contacting a national suicide prevention helpline: Report of an online survey. Crisis, 33(6), 313–324. 10.1027/0227-5910/a000151
(2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
(2015). Helping callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline who are at imminent risk of suicide: The importance of active engagement, active rescue, and collaboration between crisis and emergency services. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 45(3), 261–270. 10.1111/sltb.12128
(2008). The qualitative content analysis process. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 62(1), 107–115. 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04569.x
(2011). Volunteers' perspective of effective interactions with helpline callers: Qualitative study. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 39(4), 325–337. 10.1080/03069885.2011.567327
(2009). The descriptive phenomenological method in psychology: A modified Husserlian approach. Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press.
(2013). Impact of applied suicide intervention skills training (ASIST) on national suicide prevention lifeline counselor: Interventions and suicidal caller outcomes. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 43(6), 676–691. 10.1111/sltb.12049
(1995). Repeat callers and the Samaritan telephone crisis line – a Canadian experience. Crisis, 16(2), 66–71, 89. 10.1027/0227-5910.16.2.66
(2009). People in crisis: Clinical and diversity perspectives (6th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
(2016). The impact of telephone crisis services on suicidal users: A systematic review of the past 45 years. Mental Health Review Journal, 21(2), 141–160. 10.1108/MHRJ-07-2015-0019
(2008). Coping with crisis across the lifespan: The role of a telephone hotline. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 17(5), 663–674. 10.1007/s10826-007-9180-z
(2007). Establishing standards for the assessment of suicide risk among callers to the national suicide prevention lifeline. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 37(3), 353–365. 10.1521/suli.2007.37.3.353
(2007). An evaluation of crisis hotline outcomes. Part 1: Nonsuicidal crisis callers. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 37(3), 322–337. 10.1521/suli.2007.37.3.322
(2004). Vedtekter: Kirkens SOS i Norge [Statutes: Kirkens SOS Norway]. Oslo, Norway: Author. Retrieved from https://www.kirkens-sos.no/assets/documents/1704_Vedtekter-for-Kirkens-SOS-i-Norge_2017.pdf
. (2005). Virksomhetsstandard: Kirkens SOS i Norge
. ([Norms for practice: Kirkens SOS Norway] . Oslo, Norway: Author.1995). Qualitative research: Introducing focus groups. BMJ, 311(7000), 299–302. 10.1136/bmj.311.7000.299
(2015). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research (5th ed.). Thousands Oaks, CA: SAGE.
(1998). The telephone helpline as social support. International Social Work, 41(1), 89–101. 10.1177/002087289804100107
(2002).
(The effectiveness of suicide prevention and crisis intervention services. In D. LesterEd., Crisis intervention and counseling by telephone (2nd ed., pp. 289–298). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.1998). Empowered consumers and telephone hotlines. Crisis, 19(1), 21–23. 10.1027/0227-5910.19.1.21
(2012). Systematic text condensation: A strategy for qualitative analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 40(8), 795–805. 10.1177/1403494812465030
(2014). Systematic review of research into frequent callers to crisis helplines. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 20(2), 89–98. 10.1177/1357633X14524156
(2017). How do frequent users of crisis helplines differ from other users regarding their reasons for calling? Results from a survey with callers to Lifeline, Australia's national crisis helpline service. Health & Social Care in the Community, 25(3), 1041–1049. 10.1111/hsc.12404
(2007). Comparing models of helper behavior to actual practice in telephone crisis intervention: A silent monitoring study of calls to the U.S. 1-800-SUICIDE Network. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 37(3), 291–307. 10.1521/suli.2007.37.3.291
(2014).
(Helplines and crisis intervention services: Challenges for the future. In D. LesterEd., Suicide prevention: Resources for the millennium (pp. 153–171). New York, NY: Brunner- Routledge.2016). Comparison of the effects of telephone suicide prevention help by volunteers and professional paid staff: Results from studies in the USA and Quebec, Canada. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 46(5), 577–587. 10.1111/sltb.12238
(1997). Effects of different telephone intervention styles with suicidal callers at two suicide prevention centers: An empirical investigation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 25(6), 861–885.
(1997). Focus groups as qualitative research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
(2016). Frequent callers to telephone helplines: New evidence and a new service model. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 10, 43. 10.1186/s13033-016-0076-4
(2012). Configuring the caller in ambiguous encounters: Volunteer handling of calls to Samaritans emotional support services. Communication & Medicine, 9(2), 113–123. 10.1558/cam.v9i2.113
(2012). NVivo qualitative data analysis software. Version 10.
. (2014).
(Crisis services: Befrienders International: Volunteer action in preventing suicide. In D. LesterEd., Suicide prevention: Resources for the millennium (pp. 265–274). New York, NY: Brunner-Routledge.2015). Frequent callers to crisis helplines: Who are they and why do they call? Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49(1), 54–64. 10.1177/0004867414541154
(2006). An exploration of national calls to Lifeline Australia: Social support or urgent suicide intervention? British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 34(4), 471–482. 10.1080/03069880600942582
(