Questions to a crisis line operator pt. 1

Questions to a crisis line operator

What kind of training did you do to be qualified for this? -@kekicookoy

I was trained in a group of 19 others who were all in either counselling programs, psychology degree programs, social work or drug and addictions programs. Not because it was a pre-requisite of the center, but because as you'd expect, those sorts of people are drawn to that kind of work.
We were interviewed, tested on paper and in person to determine any lurking triggers or points of judgement that would keep us from being open minded and empathetic to all of our callers. We had background checks done with the police, including sensitive area scans to make sure we could work with children and the elderly and other at risk persons.
Then we underwent a month of 6 hour a day training, 5 days a week that included discussing classic problems, learning and rehearsing the 6 step model:
1. Identifying the problem from their perspective.
2. Determining safety of caller and potential other people in surrounding area.
3. Providing support, empathy and reflective language to create a safe and understanding environment where aspects of the problem can be discussed honestly.
4. Examining all of the alternatives and possibilities, this can include making a pros and cons list, discussing fantasy alternatives or simply exploring the best and worst things that could happen.
5. Making an action plan. This can be as simple as a plan just to get to sleep that night and call again tomorrow, or as complex as working on how to completely solve their problem depending on how the caller wants the session to go and what they're emotionally capable of in the moment.
6. Obtaining understanding and commitment to the plan, this step also includes reviewing what was discussed, providing any more empathy or support and if necessary, exploring new problems by going back to step 3.

We listened in on calls with experienced and full time employed crisis line workers and then had group discussions about the type of caller, what was focused on, why that was focused on and how the call could have been improved.
At the end of our training sessions each of us were tested with a made up crisis call of three natures 1. mental health issue, 2. suicide in progress 3. homicidal thoughts.
If we passed this, we had supervised call taking sessions for our shifts for two weeks at the end of which our skills, strengths and weaknesses were evaluated by three different staff members. If at that point they still thought we were not communicating effectively or withholding empathy, or not withholding judgement, we were washed from the program. We also get bi-annual reviews where the higher ups listen in on our calls and read through all of our reports to identify patterns and offer critique and feedback.

I have no clinical training and though I graduated with a degree in Psychology I am not a therapist or a counselor. I am a crisis phone operator. I am trained to handle any crisis anyone could call with and the appropriate action to take in making sure they are heard, understanding the problem, working with them to provide a solution - NOT offering advice - and making sure they feel satisfied they've come to some kind of even temporary solution. I do not recommend calling crisis lines for long term therapy, that isn't what we do. I would ALWAYS recommend calling a crisis line or suicide hotline if you are feeling like you don't know what to do, there are no options and you need someone to talk to.

Can you hang up on prank calls and trolls - @Rebecca077

You would probably be surprised at the number of people who call for reasons that aren't what we're allowed to help people with, some who genuinely believe we should be doing something about their "problem".
We designate them thusly:

1. Conversationalists - They usually don't mean any harm, they're just looking to chat. About the weather, about their grand kids, about us, "How are you? What's your favourite colour? How long you been doing this?"
We will often times give that caller a good twenty minutes to chat before we let them know we have to go, and we try to limit them to one call every 8 hours.

2. Delusional - These are people who probably genuinely do have a problem, but they don't want to talk about it with us, they'd rather tell us some kind of fantasy, usually while drunk, or under the influence, if they don't 100% believe their fantasy to begin with. In case you're wondering I've spoken with one of the "Princes of the Sudan" the "secret girlfriend of Tom Cruise" and the "chief of police" who promptly told me when I asked him if he was telling me a fantasy said he was going to have me arrested and tortured for my "insolence".
I had one guy who called up and said he could read minds, asked me if I was wearing triangle jewelry and then told me we'd run into each other on a bus and make love under the stars. I told him I could no longer continue the call if he was going to make me feel uncomfortable.

3. Bogus Sex callers - You guessed it. "I'm really in a crisis... it's just... that... mmmmm I saw my step dad fucking my sister the other day and... uuuhhh I just... I just... mmm can I tell you about it?"

Bogus sex calls happen more often than you might think and once identified it is our job to politely tell them that "I'm sorry but the crisis line cannot meet your needs" and hang up.

The Bogus sex calls are something everyone struggles with, because we are trained to be empathetic, non judgmental and open to whatever problems people call us about. How can you tell if there's someone having a legitimate crisis about catching their step dad having sex with their sister? That's serious. Do you call child services? You'd have to if it was real, how much time to you devote to a call if you suspect it's a load of crap? The short answer is everyone gets fooled, and my philosophy has always been to be absolutely sure they're jerking me around before hanging up the phone, which has (on more than one occasion) left me feeling gross and frustrated.

When we get calls that are pranks, bogus sex calls, delusional chatters or abusive in nature we are always instructed to end the call. It's not helping anyone to waste time trying to help someone who doesn't want help or at least not the help you're trying to provide.

All in all - sometimes a good prank call can lift spirits. They're frustrating as hell, but if your buddy just got off the phone with a suicide in progress, trust me, they want to hear about the gentleman on the phone who kept singing love songs hoping it would seduce you and then called you a "raging bitch" for asking him to stop. It's just hilarious.

When they hang up, do you have any assurance that you succeeded? - @Veracity

Short answer? No. There's no real way to know anything you've done has made a difference, that's one of the hardest parts about this job. You can spend an hour and a half on the phone with someone, making an action plan, empathizing, talking them through their emotions, and offering resource suggestions and sometimes it just doesn't take.

There are good stories, and bad stories, and everyone has them.

I had a woman call me once who was going through a divorce. She didn't know what she was going to do with her kids and she suspected she was really suffering with some depression. We talked for a long time about the impact that divorce can have on you and made a pros and cons list for why it was done. We talked about options for child care, and all of the reasons she felt safer away from her husband. I even got her the number of a free therapist for women in trouble and at the end of the call she sounded so relieved, so much more okay than she had before. She thanked me profusely before she left and promised she'd call all the numbers I'd given her as soon as it was morning.

And that felt good. It felt like I'd made a difference, that I'd changed someone's outlook at least long enough to let them get a good night's sleep and that is really what we aim to do. To get them through, one day at a time.

And then there are times when you don't make a difference. And it stings. When a call ends "Thanks, I'll try those things we talked about" and then ten minutes later they're back on the phone with the person beside you complaining about all the same stuff.

Did they ever have a problem? Did they just want a sympathetic ear? Or did they not hear what they wanted to? Who knows. It's frustrating. There's really no way to know for sure you've made a difference unless they call in again and you remember them. Sometimes that happens, mostly it doesn't.