Abstract
The characteristics of people who use telephone counseling are not well understood. This secondary analysis used data from a nationally representative community survey of 8,841 Australian adults to compare callers and non-callers to telephone counseling services. Callers have a poorer clinical profile, including a higher risk of suicide, than people who do not use telephone counseling. They also use a variety of other mental health services. Repeat calls are associated with anxiety disorders, receipt of mental health care from general practitioners, and social disadvantage. All callers have a potential need for telephone counseling and further population studies that distinguish between telephone services intended to provide crisis (one-off) and ongoing counseling are warranted.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andrews, G., & Peters, L. (1998). The psychometric properties of the composite diagnostic interview. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 33, 80–88.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2003). Information paper: Use of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale in ABS health surveys, Australia, 2001. Canberra: ABS.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2009a). 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: User’s Guide (Cat. No. 4327.0). Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2009b). Technical Manual: National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, Confidentialised Unit Record Files 2007 (Cat. No. 4329.0) Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2009). Mental health services in Australia 2006–07. Mental health series No. 11. Cat. No. HSE 74. Canberra: AIHW.
Bartholomew, A. A., & Olijnyk, E. (1973). The chronic caller and an emergency telephone advisory service. Australian Social Work, 26(1), 29–32. doi:10.1080/03124077308549385.
Burgess, N., Christensen, H., Leach, L. S., Farrer, L., & Griffiths, K. M. (2008). Mental health profile of callers to a telephone counselling service. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 14(1), 42–47.
Burgess, P., & Pirkis, J. E. (2009). Service use for mental health problems: findings from the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 43, 615–623.
Coman, G. J., Burrows, G. D., & Evans, B. J. (2001). Telephone counselling in Australia: applications and considerations for use. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 29(2), 247–258. doi:10.1080/03069880020047166.
Coveney, C. M., Pollock, K., Armstrong, S., & Moore, J. (2012). Callers’ experiences of contacting a national suicide prevention helpline: Report of an online survey. Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, 33(6), 313–324. doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000151.
Efron, B. (1981). Nonparametric estimates of standard error: the jackknife, the bootstrap and other methods. Biometrika, 68(3), 589–599.
Hall, B., & Schlosar, H. (1995). Repeat callers and the Samaritan telephone crisis line: A Canadian experience. Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, 16(2), 66–71, 89.
Ingram, S., Ringle, J., Hallstrom, K., Schill, D., Gohr, V., & Thompson, R. (2008). Coping with Crisis across the Lifespan: The Role of a Telephone Hotline. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 17(5), 663–674. doi:10.1007/s10826-007-9180-z.
IRIS Research. (2006). Lifeline National Consumer Needs and Expectations Survey 2005. Canberra: Lifeline Australia.
Johnston, A. K., Pirkis, J. E., & Burgess, P. M. (2009). Suicidal thoughts and behaviours among Australian adults: findings from the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 43, 635–643.
Kessler, R. C., Andrews, G., Colpe, L. J., Hiripi, E., Mroczek, D. K., LT-Normand, S., et al. (2002). Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychological Medicine, 32(6), 959–976.
Kessler, R. C., & Ustun, T. B. (2004). The World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative Version of the World Health Organization (WHO) Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 13, 93–121.
Lester, D., & Brockopp, G. W. (1970). Chronic callers to a suicide prevention center. Community Mental Health Journal, 6(3), 246–250.
Middleton, A., Gunn, J., Bassilios, B., & Pirkis, J. (2014). Systematic review of research into frequent callers to crisis helplines. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 20(2), 89–98.
Mullins, L. C., Elston, C. H., & Gutkowski, S. M. (1996). Social determinants of loneliness among older Americans. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 122(4), 453–473.
National Health Workforce Planning and Research Collaboration. (2011). Mental Health Non-Government Organisation Workforce Project Final Report. Adelaide: Health Workforce Australia.
Parslow, R. A., & Jorm, A. F. (2000). Who uses mental health services in Australia? An anslysis of data from the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 34(6), 997–1008.
Rosenfield, M. (1997). Counselling by telephone. London: Sage Publications.
Sawyer, J., & Jameton, E. (1979). Chronic callers to a suicide prevention center. Suicide and Life -Threatening Behavior, 9(2), 97–104.
Seeley, M. F. (1993). Hotlines—A case study. Crisis, 14(2), 59–60.
Slade, T., Johnston, A., Oakely Brown, M.A., Andrews, G., & Whiteford, H. (2009). 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: methods and key findings. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 43, 594–605.
Spittal, M. J., Fedyszyn, I., Middleton, A., Bassilios, B., Gunn, J., Woodward, A., & Pirkis, J. (2014). Frequent callers to crisis helplines: Who are they and why do they call? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Online First, 1–11.
StataCorp. (2012). Stata Statistical Software: Release 11.2: StataCorp.
Urbis Keys Young. (2002). National review of tele counselling and web counselling services. Canberra: Department of Health & Ageing.
Urbis Keys Young. (2003). National review of tele and web counselling services: Literature review. Canberra: Department of Health & Ageing.
Watson, R. J., McDonald, J., & Pearce, D. C. (2006). An exploration of national calls to Lifeline Australia: social support or urgent suicide intervention? British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 34(4), 471–482.
World Health Organization. (1992). The ICD-10 Classification of mental and behavioural disorders: Clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines. Geneva: WHO.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Lifeline Foundation with funding from Servier Australia. The authors wish to thank the Lifeline Foundation and Servier Australia for the opportunity to collaborate on this important research project. We thank Alan Woodward for his professional input. The 2007 NSMHWB was funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, and conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Aves Middleton is funded through PhD scholarships proceeded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Australian Rotary Health and Jane Pirkis is funded by a Senior Research Fellowship from the NHMRC.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bassilios, B., Harris, M., Middleton, A. et al. Characteristics of People Who Use Telephone Counseling: Findings from Secondary Analysis of a Population-Based Study. Adm Policy Ment Health 42, 621–632 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-014-0595-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-014-0595-8