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Abstract
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In most 24-hour emergency telephone services, the major way of assisting individuals in difficulty is through a telephone, usually publicized under the general rubric of a suicide prevention center, a crisis service, or a combination of the two.
Through analyzing the telephone calls of the first six months of telephone service at the Buffalo center, we noted (as many other Centers have noted) that most individuals calling the Center are not actually suicidal or even contemplating suicide. Our figures indicated that approximately 80% of the individuals call because of other problems and concerns. Often they will call the center and make the disclaimer "I am not going to kill myself but I have this problem or concern and I want to talk to somebody." or "I can't get help anywhere else, maybe you can help me." In looking at the problems people were having through the calls we were receiving, we felt that the designation of the 24-hour telephone emergency service under the term "Suicide and Crisis Service," could be a stumbling block for individuals, and could possibly prevent people from calling the Center with other problems they may have, (which may have a suicidal aspect although they were not defined as such by the people calling) because of the ethical and religious connotations which the community attached to suicidal behavior.
We decided to explore other ways to label our telephone service to facilitate the movement of individuals with problems to the Center and then through the Center to a helping network of people. Our initial movement was to develop a broader designation that would allow individuals with a wider range of problems to feel that they could call the center. Out of the many choices that were available, we selected the term "PROBLEMS OF LIVING" since it defined problems in a non-psychiatric or sick manner, gave them sense of normality, and did not circumscribe problems according to age, sex, or type of difficulty.
The second differentiation was in term of specific problem areas or age groups. Again analyzing the phone calls received at the Center, we felt there was a need to contact or to develop a telephone service which would focus on the teens and twenties population. It was felt that the teen's population would be more likely to call a telephone service if it was designated as being specifically focused on them, and on the problems that they had. Also, we felt that many of the telephone therapists on the Suicide Prevention Line, even though they would be facilitative in assisting people with more severe problems, would have a more difficult time handling the problems of the teenagers who call on the suicide line since the adults tend to define these problems in a non-serious way...
Language: en |