TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2019//
TI  - Caught between expectations and the practice field
JO  - Crisis
A1  - Vattø, Ingvild Engh
A1  - Lien, Lars
A1  - Demarinis, Valerie
A1  - Kjørven Haug, Sigrid Helene
A1  - Danbolt, Lars Johan
SP  - 1
EP  - 7
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - BACKGROUND: Volunteer crisis line responders are a valuable resource for suicide prevention crisis lines worldwide. <br><br>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. <br><br>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. <br><br>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. <br><br>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.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0227-5910
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910/a000573
ID  - ref1
ER  -