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An analysis of calls to a Vietnam veterans' telephone counselling service
Author(s) -
Bryant Richard A.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1023/a:1024417031977
Subject(s) - anger , crisis intervention , telephone counseling , intervention (counseling) , government (linguistics) , service (business) , telephone survey , depression (economics) , psychiatry , suicide prevention , service member , telephone call , psychology , medicine , poison control , medical emergency , nursing , military personnel , political science , business , advertising , linguistics , philosophy , electrical engineering , engineering , marketing , economics , law , macroeconomics
The pattern of calls to an after‐hours crisis telephone service for Vietnam veterans was surveyed over a 9‐week period. Not including prank and administrative calls, 274 calls were made to the service. Domestic conflict, substance abuse, traumatic memories, depression, and anger at government represented the major problems requiring counselling. Crisis intervention was required for 18% of calls because of suicide threats or threatened violence to others. The survey findings indicate that telephone counselling can be an appropriate means to provide support for many veterans who may avoid conventional counselling agencies.