Abstract
Crisis line services, operated by volunteers, have been proven to be effective in decreasing psychological pain and preventing suicidality. Although working at the crisis line may be rewarding, for some the confrontation with highly complex topics (i.e., suicidality, abuse, and loneliness) in combination with inappropriate calls (i.e., sexually abusive calls), may lead to distress or vicarious trauma. The aim of this paper is to systematically review the studies that have examined mental wellbeing of crisis line volunteers and the factors associated with it. Thirteen published empirical studies on the topic were found. These showed that crisis line volunteers are at increased risk of declined mental wellbeing. However, a wide range of operationalizations were used and most studies did not use validated instruments. On the other hand, studies showed that many volunteers experience satisfaction and gratification from their work. This review gives insight into some of the work-related, organization-related, and volunteer-related factors that may be associated with the decrease of mental wellbeing. More high quality, comprehensive, and quantitative research using validated instruments is urgently needed to assess the impact of the work on mental wellbeing and the relative impact of influencing factors.
Highlights
Crisis line services, operated by volunteers, can be considered as an important addition to the existing formal care for people who cannot or do not want to use formal care
Prevalence rates of decreased mental wellbeing ranged from 3% to 77%, showing that crisis line volunteers are at increased risk of declined mental wellbeing
Few studies have examined mental wellbeing in crisis line volunteers. These studies suggest that volunteers are at risk of decreased mental wellbeing, despite the gratification they experience from their work
Summary
Crisis line services, operated by volunteers, can be considered as an important addition to the existing formal care for people who cannot or do not want to use formal care. Crisis line services offer immediate emotional support by telephone, chat or email in case of personal crisis [1]. In Europe, there are more than 21,000 trained crisis line volunteers, who are available day and night to provide emotional support to vulnerable people in need of immediate help. These volunteers conduct over five million telephone calls and 130,000 chat and email conversations each year [1].
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