In texting era, crisis hotlines put help at youths’ fingertips

New York Times

Texting has become such a significant way of communicating, especially among people under age 20, that crisis lines have been using it as a means of providing emergency services and counseling. Groups experimenting with it have had mixed results, but the benefits, especially for adolescents, have made it an attractive option for hotlines dealing with issues like suicide, depression and sexual abuse. Texting looks more “natural” if a teen is in public, counselors say. “They can still look ‘cool’ to their peers or friends while receiving assistance that they are in desperate need of,” said clinical psychologist Jerry Weichman, who deals with adolescent issues. Plus, teens can “keep their conversations and can review them at a later date when they are struggling with another situation in their life,” Weichman said. Counselors using texting can help more than one caller at a time and can also introduce experts into a conversation without transferring or putting a caller on hold. Beyond these differences, people who text receive the same services as callers on the phone, including risk assessment, emotional support, and problem-solving help. Aggregated data on texting also provides real-time information that shows patterns of people in crisis, which ultimately could be used by public health officials to tailor public policy solutions.