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Abstract
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Occasionally suicide-prevention centers and crisis service receive calls in which the caller remains silent. The aim to this paper is to describe an unusual case of this problem.
It is important to note that counselors frequently classify these kinds of calls as nuisance calls or pranks. To do this runs the danger that people in crisis will not be aided by the service. Brockopp (1970) has discussed the so-called nuisance call. The telephone counselor cannot reliably judge a call to be a prank call. As Brockopp noted, to classify a call as a prank call is to set up an arbitrary standard as to the type of problem or situation with which the counselor will work.
If the counselor stays with the person, speaks sympathetically to them, and encourages them they may eventually overcome their fear or embarrassment. If the caller hangs-up without talking, this may reflect upon the counselor's competence rather than the seriousness of the caller.
If the caller initially remains silent it may prove to be difficult for him to begin talking to the counselor, to break the silence. In that case, the counselor has several alternatives. He can stay with the caller and continue to encourage him to talk. He can suggest that the caller hang-up and call back at another time. He can suggest that the caller write to the center rather than call. The following case report describes a fourth possibility. In this the counselor suggested to the caller that she answer yes or no in a code. A sigh represented yes and silence represented no. In this way he was able to elicit a great deal of information from the caller...
Language: en |