Telephone counseling

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German special postage stamp from 1998
Information boards on the Ruhrschnellweg / A40 in Mülheim an der Ruhr

The telephone counseling (Switzerland: Die Dargebotene Hand , English: "telephone emergency services", "crisis hotline" or "Samaritans") is a predominantly voluntary auxiliary facility for telephone counseling of people with worries, needs and crises, which exists in many countries. As a crisis service, it serves directly to prevent suicide and is available around the clock in most countries. In addition to the telephone offer, it also offers advice by email or chat in many countries . The Telefonseelsorge Germany began in 1956 in Berlin.

History of telephone counseling

The idea of ​​telephone counseling first arose in Protestant parsonages : in 1892, for the first time in New York and then in 1953 in London , pastors became aware of the increasing number of suicide attempts and suicides in their major cities. They offered their phone numbers in newspaper advertisements in order to be able to give these people a conversation , a human ear, an offer to help them in their desperation. The Anglican pastor of a London inner-city parish, Chad Varah , placed an ad in the Daily Herald on December 7, 1953 : DIAL MANsion 9000 - for a Good Samaritan. His offer is described in the newspaper text as a help for "those in spiritual trouble". They should be able to call if they intend to commit suicide. In this ad, anonymity is already emphasized and the 24-hour offer is being considered.

In some representations the following phrase is also used: "Before you commit suicide, ring me up. Telephone Mansion House 9000" ("Before you commit suicide, call me").

The initiative of individuals in England gave rise to the Samaritans movement , which has also spread to other countries. Parallel to the Samaritans, IFOTES (International Federation of Telephone Emergency Services) based in Switzerland has developed as another umbrella organization. In most countries, the positions are carried out by associations of persons. The in Germany began on October 5, 1956 with the telephone counseling in Berlin . This position was sponsored from the beginning and is still an association today. The specialist journal 24/7 Zeitschrift der TelefonSeelsorge Deutschland (since 1984) has made a name for itself as a medium of telephone counseling . As a result of the idea and the subsequent establishment of telephone counseling worldwide, various other emergency telephone consultations were initiated, such as addiction emergency calls, child care telephones, counseling telephones for victims of violence and so on. In Germany and Austria, the large national churches are mostly responsible for telephone counseling.

Phone numbers

Germany

Austria

  • AustriaAustriaTelephone counseling in Austria ( ecumenical ): 142 (formerly 1717), since around 2016 there has also been a chat service.

Switzerland

International principles

  • Anonymity: Those seeking advice are not asked for their name, but can remain anonymous . The telephone counselors also remain anonymous.
  • Confidentiality: All employees are subject to confidentiality .
  • Availability: The telephone counseling centers can be reached day and night in most countries, every day of the year.
  • Competence: The employees of the telephone counseling are selected, trained, continuously trained and accompanied by regular supervision by experts.
  • Openness: The telephone counseling is open to all problem areas , to all callers in their respective situation. It is there for everyone who calls - regardless of religion and worldview , nationality or gender .
  • Free of charge: There are no costs for those seeking advice other than the connection fees (in Germany, Telekom, as a partner of the telephone counseling, pays the connection fees ).

International networking

There are two umbrella organizations for telephone counseling worldwide : IFOTES (International Federation of Telephone Emergency Services) and the Samaritans. In the current version of the "Ethics Charter" of IFOTES (adopted in Jerusalem on July 14, 1994) the international principles of telephone counseling are recorded. The principles of the Samaritans and IFOTES are largely identical. In addition to the international norms , there are regulations of the national associations as well as statutes and concepts of the respective local offices. These serve to implement the idea of ​​telephone counseling in a contemporary manner in accordance with national and regional circumstances and to guarantee concrete minimum standards. Conferences and congresses on a national and international level promote the exchange and understanding on a professional level but also between people of different origins , cultures and religions . The principle of responding to those seeking advice as impartially as possible can be experienced and practiced in encounters with strangers and unfamiliar people from other telephone counseling institutions.

literature

  • Franz-Josef Hücker: Telephone counseling. In: Wilfried Engemann (Hrsg.): Handbuch der Seelsorge. Basics and profiles. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt: Leipzig, 3rd, completely revised and expanded edition 2016, pp. 573-590, ISBN 978-3-374-04258-6 .
  • Eberhard Hauschildt, Bernd D. Blömeke (ed.): Interdisciplinary telephone counseling. Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 2016, ISBN 978-3-647-62435-8 .
  • Franz-Josef Hücker: One can share concerns. The concept of telephone counseling. In: Sozial Extra 3/4 2011, 35th year (VS Verlag Wiesbaden), pp. 10–15.
  • Heiner Seidlitz, Dietmar Theiss: Resource-oriented telephone advice. Borgmann Media, Dortmund 2007, ISBN 978-3-938187-37-1 .
  • Traugott Weber (Hrsg.): Manual telephone counseling. Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 2006, ISBN 3-525-62386-0 .
  • Helmut Harsch: Theory and practice of the advisory discussion: training course d. Evang. Telephone counseling in Munich. Kaiser, Munich 1973.
  • Chad Varah: Samaritans. Help over the phone. Kreuz Verlag, Stuttgart 1966.
  • Erich Stange: Telephone counseling. Oncken Verlag, Kassel 1961.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DIAL MANsion 9000 - for a Good Samaritan in: Daily Herald (December 7, 1953), p. 3.
  2. ↑ The History of Telephone Pastoral Care. Retrieved March 18, 2018 .
  3. ^ Franz-Josef Hücker: Telephone counseling in the shadow of anonymity. When a good intention is reversed. In: 24/7 Zeitschrift der TelefonSeelsorge Deutschland 34 (1) April 2017, pp. 16-18.