Systematic review of research into frequent callers to crisis helplines

We conducted a systematic review of research into callers making multiple calls to crisis helplines. Two databases were searched, identifying 561 articles from 1960 until 2012, of which 63 were relevant. Twenty-one articles from 19 separate studies presented empirical data about callers making multiple calls to crisis helplines. Of the 19 studies, three were intervention […]

How do frequent users of crisis helplines differ from other users regarding their reasons for calling? Results from a survey with callers to Lifeline, Australia’s national crisis helpline service

Crisis helplines are designed to provide short-term support to people in an immediate crisis. However, there is a group of users who call crisis helplines frequently over an extended period of time. The reasons for their ongoing use remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in the reasons for calling […]

Frequent callers to crisis helplines: Who are they and why do they call?

Objective: Frequent callers present a challenge for crisis helplines, which strive to achieve optimal outcomes for all callers within finite resources. This study aimed to describe frequent callers to Lifeline (the largest crisis helpline in Australia) and compare them with non-frequent callers, with a view to furthering knowledge about models of service delivery that might meet […]

Predicting suicide risk in real-time crisis hotline chats integrating machine learning with psychological factors: Exploring the black box

Background This study addresses the suicide risk predicting challenge by exploring the predictive ability of machine learning (ML) models integrated with theory-driven psychological risk factors in real-time crisis hotline chats. More importantly, we aimed to understand the specific theory-driven factors contributing to the ML prediction of suicide risk. Method The dataset consisted of 17,654 crisis […]

What is a crisis? Perspectives of crisis support help-seekers

Background: Understanding what types of crises help-seekers view as relevant for contacting crisis support services is needed to inform crisis service provision and training. Aims: This study aimed to explore help-seeker perceptions of what comprises a crisis, describing the main themes and examining how these relate to reasons for contact reported in previous research. This study further aimed […]

Perceived impact of COVID-19 among callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Background: Research indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic caused increases in psychological distress and suicidal ideation. Aims: To describe the ways suicidal callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline) perceived COVID-19 to have impacted them and assess whether these callers perceived COVID-19-related stress as contributing to their suicidal thoughts. Method: Telephone interviews were conducted with 412 suicidal callers to 12 […]

Advances in crisis management of the suicidal patient: Perspectives from patients

This paper discusses crisis intervention with the suicidal client from the perspective of two clients who discuss both the strengths and challenges they have encountered while in crisis. The paper then discusses a model for understanding a suicidal crisis and a template for intervention.

Level of suicidal ideation among callers to the Danish suicide prevention helpline

Objective: The aim of this study was to: (1) determine the proportion of callers to a national helpline for suicide prevention who were evaluated to be at risk of suicide; (2) identify characteristics associated with being at risk; (3) determine the level of suicidal ideation among callers, as measured by a clinical scale, and compared to […]

Measuring associations of the department of Veterans Affairs’ suicide prevention campaign on the use of crisis support services

Campaigns have become popular in public health approaches to suicide prevention; however, limited empirical investigation of their impact on behavior has been conducted. To address this gap, utilization patterns of crisis support services associated with the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) suicide prevention campaign were examined. Daily call data for the National […]

Systematic review of research and interventions with frequent callers to suicide prevention helplines and crisis centers

Background: Helplines worldwide have frequent callers who may occupy a large proportion of call volume. Therapeutic gain from frequent calling has been questioned. We conducted this review to identify the characteristics of frequent callers and to compile recommendations about how best to help them. Method: Using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) standards, we searched […]

The association between reattempted suicide and incoming calls to the brief contact intervention service, VigilanS: A study of the clinical profile of callers

Background Suicide is a major health problem globally. As attempted suicide is a major risk factor for suicide, specific prevention strategies have been designed for use thereafter. An example is the brief contact intervention (BCI). In this regard, France employs a composite BCI, VigilanS, which utilizes three types of contact: phone calls, postcards and a […]

Adolescents’ engagement with crisis hotline risk-management services: A report from the Emergency Department Screen for Teen Suicide Risk (ED-STARS) study

Objective This study examines the feasibility of a risk-management protocol for adolescent research participants at risk for suicide that relies on engagement with telephone crisis counselors. The study also examines whether engagement is moderated by adolescent demographics and clinical characteristics. Method Participants were 234 adolescents (83% female; 63% White) ages 12–18 (M = 15.3 years) drawn from the […]

Safety planning on crisis lines: Feasibility, acceptability, and perceived helpfulness of a brief intervention to mitigate future suicide risk

Background The role of crisis hotlines traditionally was limited to de-escalation and service linkage. However, hotlines are increasingly recruited to provide outreach and follow-up to suicidal individuals. Hotlines have the opportunity to not just defuse current crises but also provide brief interventions to mitigate future risk. The Safety Planning Intervention (SPI) is a brief intervention […]

Integrating minority stress theory and the interpersonal theory of suicide among sexual minority youth who engage crisis services

Objective The present study sought to integrate minority stress theory (MST) and the interpersonal theory of suicide (ITS) to better understand high rates of suicide among sexual minority youth (SMY). To date, the ITS and MST have largely advanced independently from one another even though the research base for each theory contains gaps that the […]

Suicide mortality and related behavior following calls to the Veterans Crisis Line by Veterans Health Administration patients

Objectives To assess outcomes for Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients following calls to the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL). Methods 158,927 VHA patients had an initial VCL call in 2010–2015 with documented identifiers. Multivariable proportional hazards regressions assessed risks of suicide and suicide-related behavior through 12 months. Covariates included age, sex, region, mental health encounters in the […]

How the helping process unfolds for clients in suicidal crises: Linking helping-style trajectories with outcomes in online crisis chats

Objectives Crisis counselors’ active listening and collaborative problem-solving helping styles have been associated with outcomes for clients in suicidal crises. These associations have been based on static conceptualizations of helping (i.e., helping style for the entire session). Our aim was to further understand how the crisis counseling helping process unfolds (i.e., helping trajectory) and helping […]

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline crisis chat interventions: Evaluation of chatters’ perceptions of effectiveness

Objective As part of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s crisis response system, the Lifeline Crisis Chat Network (LCC) answers chats from hundreds of thousands of at-risk individuals yearly. The study’s objective was to assess the effectiveness of these online crisis interventions. Method Data from 39,911 pre-chat surveys and 13,130 linked pre- and post-chat surveys completed by […]

Perceptions of public messaging to facilitate help seeking during crisis among U.S. veterans at risk for suicide

Objective The primary objectives of this study were to (1) examine how veterans at risk for suicide understand and interpret suicide prevention messages, and (2) identify message features that support (or hinder) help seeking behaviors. Method Individual virtual interviews (N = 40) were conducted from August 2018 to April 2019 with a nationwide sample of veterans who […]

Individuals who text crisis text line: Key characteristics and opportunities for suicide prevention

Objective Text-based crisis services are increasingly prominent, with inclusion in the national 988 crisis number launching in 2022. Yet little is known about who uses them. This study seeks to understand the population served by Crisis Text Line (CTL), the largest crisis text service in the United States. Methods Secondary data analysis was conducted on […]

A systematic review of user expectations and outcomes of crisis support services

Background: Crisis support services play an important role in providing free, immediate access to support people in the community experiencing a personal crisis. Recently, services have expanded from telephone to digital modalities including online chat and text message services. This raises the question of what outcomes are being achieved for increasingly diverse service users across […]

Suicide gatekeeping: An important potential role for early childhood home visitors

Parents of young children with disabilities may experience high levels of stress and psychological distress that may put them at higher risk for experiencing suicidality. Thus, early childhood home visitors (e.g., professionals who work for home-based early intervention programs) may serve as important gatekeepers for identifying and referring parents who are experiencing psychological distress, including […]

Texting for help: Processes and impact of text counseling with children and youth with suicide ideation

Objective To explore: (1) how children contacting a child helpline with suicide ideation differ from children discussing other topics, (2) whether text messaging effectively helps, and (3) which counselor behaviors are most effective. Method Of 6,060 text sessions at the Danish national child helpline, 444 concerned suicidality, of which the 102 sessions that included self‐rated, […]

Gender differences in risk factors related to suicidal ideation among callers to telephone helplines in Spain

The main goals of this study were to determine the prevalence rate of suicidal ideation among callers to a Spanish telephone general crisis helpline (Teléfono de la Esperanza) and to identify gender-based characteristics and risk factors related to suicidal ideation. A sample of 10,765 (6,868 men and 3,897 women) callers to this telephone helpline was […]