Crisis hotline workers are the ‘first responders’ of mental health. But what’s the effect on them?
Secondary trauma is common
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States.
On the front lines of suicide prevention are crisis hotline workers. They are, according to Bart Andrews of crisis hotline Behavioral Health Response, the “first responders” of mental health.
“Working [at a crisis lifeline] is like being on a rollercoaster. Sometimes it’s fast, sometimes it’s slow, you don’t know what’s coming next. Every call you’re starting from scratch.”
Andrews says crisis work like this can be difficult for even the most talented clinicians.
Madison Boggs is a former part-time employee at Polaris, which works to eradicate human trafficking in the United States. She worked as a hotline advocate, receiving calls from individuals who had questions about human trafficking and people who had experienced it first hand.
She says the hardest part of the job was getting off the phone and not knowing what would happen to the person on the other end next.
“It [was] always really hard,” Boggs says. “[I] would hear some really upsetting things, but I always found comfort in the fact that I was there to hopefully help the person.”
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is comprised of more than 160 crisis centers around the country, each operating independently. All volunteer and crisis line staff members undergo thorough and extensive training before they speak, text or message another individual.
Despite her training, Heather Barnard, former volunteer at Crisis Text Line, which provides free crisis intervention via text message, says she didn’t understand just how hard it would be.
“I don’t think I was prepared for how emotionally draining it was going to be. I think I downplayed the number of suicidal or self-inflicting conversations,” says Barnard.
Her first call was with a young boy contemplating suicide.
Barnard says her training for Crisis Text Line lasted about six weeks and included four training sessions and homework. She says she struggled with leaving what she heard behind once the conversation ended. She stopped volunteering after seven months.
Shye Louis of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline says this is a common problem for crisis line workers.
The uncertainty — and the ambiguity that lingers after some conversations — is the hardest part about the work. Louis’s ability to let go, she says, is what enabled her success as a crisis line worker.
“There are always those calls that you will never forget working with, [but] I tend to be very good at not lingering,” says Louis
Louis says many can experience secondary trauma as a result of their work.
Ron White of Samaritans, Inc. in Boston, a member center of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline sees the work as an opportunity to connect with someone in need.
“I’ve spoken with people in dark places,” says White, “but I feel extremely privileged to be with a person who is in that much pain and willing to share.”
Barnard says that while she wasn’t able to continue the work, she doesn’t regret the experience.
“People who can do it, and do it successfully, can create this beautiful connection. It’s a beautiful thing to be that selfless.”
