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Abstract
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After a few days of working at a Suicide and Crisis Service, answering calls from people in various types of difficulties and crises, the telephone therapist learns to respond to most problems with a type of "concerned objectivity." Yet some problems seem to tap a system of responses which generally is not therapeutic and leaves the therapist with a feeling of hurt, anger, or uselessness. One of the situations which probably does this more than any other is the call from a male who seems to use the services of the center for the sole purpose of masturbating to the voice of a female. For example, a few months ago, the following note was entered into our case file:
A man masturbating while saying: "Talk to me. Don't leave me". I was not able to locate his file but felt he had called before. As he became more excited he became more verbal with remarks like "Open your legs." I terminated call by suggesting he call back when he had finished to discuss why he needs a stranger rather than a friend at this time.
Over the past few months, this type of phone call has been received about three times a week.
The problems associated with this type of call can be divided into three categories: first, how to develop an appropriate treatment plan for this type of caller; second, how to deal with the feelings of the telephone therapist who receives the call; and third, the effect of this type of call on the service the agency is to perform in the community at large. It should be noted that these problems are not unique to calls from masturbators, but are associated with any type of difficult call that a telephone service receives. For example, females may call the center and act seductively to a male counselor, callers may arouse hostility and anger in counselors by the difficult problems they present, or callers who by their unwillingness to work with the telephone therapist evoke in them the feelings of inadequacy. Certainly the call from a person who is actively suicidal will raise the anxiety of the telephone therapist and may make it more difficult for him to react appropriately to the crisis situation.
Yet the masturbator does, perhaps, require special attention because his calls not only have a very disrupting effect on counselors by arousing very strong negative emotions in them which may result in their inadequate handling of the call but also because the aroused emotions generally have a negative effect on the handling of subsequent calls made by individuals with other types of problems...
Language: en |