Requirements for the helpline operation. Emergency social and psychological assistance service on the helpline

First of all, you should consider the question of whether the crisis line will be a helpline or a contact number. Choosing the first option means that you tend to consider the helpline work as an independent type of psychological assistance and understand its possibilities and limits. The second option implies that contact number makes it possible to inform the caller on issues of interest to him, to competently select a specialist for a possible face-to-face consultation.

Existing Phones trust differ in the type of relationship that develops between the interlocutors. Conventionally, we can talk about three models of the Helpline.

The “doctor helps the patient” model is a type of relationship in which the telephone counselor, like a doctor, takes responsibility for the life (and health) of the person applying.

The “specialist helps the client” model provides for the help of a specialist psychologist in solving the problem that the caller poses to him.

The "man helps man" model assumes the completeness of human communication between two people, one of whom needs help. He is helped by both the relationships that are developing between them and the actions of the telephone consultant to resolve the caller's crisis.

The creation of a Helpline should start with choosing a service model. Certainty in this matter will avoid many complications in the future.

Goals and objectives of the helpline

Two main goals can be distinguished: prevention of crises and their relief. To achieve the first, it is necessary to achieve a decrease in the level of aggression in society (meaning both aggression directed at others and auto-aggression), the prevention of suicides and the weakening of psychological discomfort in families. Psychological counseling is carried out via the Helpline, emergency psychological assistance is provided, callers are addressed to other services where their requests can be satisfied more fully and efficiently.

To achieve the goal of stopping crises, it is necessary to provide urgent psychological assistance, including crisis intervention, by phone at the time of contact, to help the subscriber to survive a crisis situation and other traumatic conflicts; identify cases of violence against children, etc.

What is the work of the Helpline based on

The activity of any helpline, knowingly or unknowingly, is built in accordance with a certain concept. If the belief system on which the work is based is deliberate, then this makes it more meaningful, and the help - effective. The concept of the work determines its principles, directions and content. The concept is designed to answer the questions: who is a telephone consultant? Why is the subscriber calling? What's going on between them? What is the help for the subscriber? - etc.

In what areas to organize the work of the Helpline

To achieve the goals of the service, it is necessary to organize the work of the Helpline in the following areas;

Direct work with callers;

Providing assistance to callers that goes beyond telephone counseling;

Psychological patronage of telephone consultants;

Selection and training of telephone consultants;

Scientific work and work to improve professional skills.

Organization of direct work with subscribers

Direct work with subscribers is built in accordance with the principles of telephone consulting, such as: confidentiality; availability; non-directiveness; respect for the subscriber; listening to the subscriber; the desire to establish a relationship with the subscriber of the "I - you" type; observance of a common line in the work of the Helpline. Direct work with callers includes crisis intervention, crisis psychotherapy; listening, providing psychological support; psychotherapy of subscribers with post-traumatic syndrome; activities to restore or revitalize all the vital forces of those who asked for help to get out of a crisis, etc.

The rest of the activities are, although auxiliary, but mandatory in nature and are fully described in the Package of Documents of the Moscow Helpline for Children and Adolescents (see the list in Appendix 6).

Psychological patronage for telephone consultants

In direct work with a subscriber, a telephone consultant, whose work intensity is extremely high (for 12 hours of shift, the load during the day reaches 30 psychotherapeutic conversations, at night - 10), often experiences nervous loads that are close to stressful. Psychological support to the caller (caller) is always carried out at the expense of the telephone consultants' own efforts.

To maintain their working form, regular communication with the leading psychological patronage is necessary, during which rehabilitation and relief of overloads take place.

The results of psychological patronage are also the personal growth of telephone consultants, prevention of "burnout", an atmosphere of mutual trust, support and participation in a common cause.

Things to Remember

1. As in any emergency service, for employees directly working "on calls", the order of actions in crisis situations should be worked out. It must be written down, and everyone must know it and have it at hand while working. This is a guarantee that in the event of confusion or stress, the telephone consultant can consult the record and deal with what is happening.

2. The crisis line assumes a 24-hour mode of operation.

3. On the crisis helpline, the procedure for interaction with other city services, such as " Ambulance", the emergency room of a trauma center, hospitals, a night center for the prevention of venereal diseases at dermatovenerologic dispensaries (KVD), police departments, centers for helping drug addicts, alcoholics, survivors of sexual violence, shelters for women, children and adolescents who have experienced violence, etc. It is necessary to establish in advance working relations not only with them, but also with the guardianship and guardianship authorities, as well as with those non-governmental and non-profit organizations that actually provide various kinds of assistance to the population of the city.

4. It is advisable to regularly inform all employees of the service about the results of rendering assistance to those who called the Helpline. Getting "feedback" is one of the conditions for preventing the "burnout" of telephone consultants. The best form for this is weekly conferences with a review of the incidents that happened in the week.

Principles for the selection and training of employees

One of the specific features of the Helpline is that its staff is constantly updated. Employees with more than five years of experience are the exception rather than the rule. Therefore, the constant selection and training of employees is an independent direction of the Helpline.

Selection criteria:

1. An applicant for the position of a telephone consultant must have a certain temperament and personal qualities necessary for the job.

2. When selecting, first of all, it is necessary to pay attention to those

personality traits and qualities that do NOT allow you to qualify as a telephone consultant. Their presence is the basis for attrition.

3. The helpline is often approached by people who need conversations on "eternal topics" (conversations about death, about the loneliness of a person in the world, about God, about love, about the relationship between "fathers and children", etc.) It is desirable that the applicant was a mature person. The selection lead should estimate the time it will take to prepare the candidate for such conversations. If the lead selection suggests that such preparation will be too long, then this may become the basis for refusal of the applicant.

4. Successful work of a telephone consultant depends on the motivation that brought him to the helpline, and it should be taken into account when selecting applicants.

5. What should be taught to a telephone consultant?

1. Non-directive communication style.

2. Help people of different ages, with various psychological problems and conditions.

3. Analyze your work, give it an objective assessment.

4. To gain psychological stamina.

Means of advanced training for consultants

The scientific basis of telephone consulting in our country has not been developed, there is little special literature, therefore, training trainings and seminars with a discussion of the experience of telephone consultants, acquaintance with the achievements of domestic and foreign colleagues are of particular importance. This practice allows you to constantly improve the qualifications of employees.

Advertising activities precede the start of the Helpline. It should start with determining which group of the population the helpline predominantly provides assistance and with which range of problems the service intends to work. The choice of advertising means, tactics of actions and the content of advertising messages depends on this. For example, if you intend to provide a housewife with an opportunity to contact your Helpline, then it makes sense to advertise the service phone on the radio, post flyers in antenatal clinics, child care centers, distribute to mailboxes, choose those printed editions, which are mainly of interest to women engaged in the improvement of the family hearth.

Should there be educational activities?

Educational activities are necessary in order to explain to people in what cases and for what purpose to use the Helpline. Educational activities include articles in magazines, newspapers, radio and television broadcasts, lecturing, speaking to the public, creating documentaries, journalistic and artistic works.

Helpline staff

At the initial stage of development, the staff of the Helpline, working around the clock on one line, consists of a director of the service, an administrator, telephone consultants, a social worker, a signalman and a cleaner. When telephone consultants work in shifts (shift - 12 hours, one rate - 40 hours), five telephone consultant rates are required and at least five people working at these rates. If the conditions are different (a different number of lines and a different time regime), the rates will change accordingly.

Telephone consultants can collaborate both voluntarily and on a contract basis. The telephone counselor's working hours (40 hours per week) include self-study time, meeting hours, and meeting with the observer assistant.

A social worker takes control of well-known acts of violence against children, requiring the organization of actions to protect the rights of the child, as well as those cases where it is necessary to visit the caller.

In the future, with the development and expansion of the service, the staffing table can be supplemented with the following positions: supervisor (s), programmer responsible for fundraising, etc.

Legal _ and financial aspects of activities

The helpline can be legal entity and have all the relevant rights and responsibilities. In some cases, it is a structural unit of the center for the provision of social and psychological assistance to the population.

The helpline is funded by the budget of the organization under which it operates. Funding for the helpline, regardless of its departmental affiliation, can be carried out at the expense of funds allocated by the state for targeted programs to provide social and psychological assistance to the population.

The helpline may have any other legitimate sources of funding and support in addition. This method of financing can be considered the best when funds come from many independent sources.

Material base

For one line of the Helpline to work, a separate, easy-to-remember telephone number is required, a room consisting of one or several isolated rooms for duty consultants, depending on the number of people working on one line, as well as for other purposes.

The room should be equipped with a kitchen, bathroom, shower and a small sports complex.

In order to maintain confidentiality and given the dangerous nature of the work (mentally ill people, hooligans, sexual maniacs may call), there should be no unauthorized persons in the room where the work is taking place. Therefore, it is recommended to have a lockable front door without a sign.

A computer is required for statistical recording of requests and responses to information requests. In the absence of a computer, you can keep track of calls in notebooks with their subsequent statistical processing. If the operating hours of the Helpline are not round-the-clock, the service must have an answering machine.

^

POSITION

about the Trust Phone service

1. Telephone Trust is an emergency anonymous psychological assistance to the population by telephone.

2. The service is created with the aim of reducing psychological discomfort, the level of aggression in people, including auto-aggression and suicide, the formation of psychological culture and the strengthening of mental health and an atmosphere of psychological security of the population, including children and adolescents.

^

The main tasks of the Trust Telephone service

ensuring the availability and timeliness of psychological assistance by telephone for citizens, regardless of their social status and place of residence;

Providing everyone who applies for advice and help the possibility of a confidential dialogue;

Psychological counseling by phone;

Helping subscribers to mobilize their creative, intellectual, personal, spiritual and physical resources to get out of the crisis;

Expanding the range of socially and personally acceptable means for subscribers to independently solve problems that have arisen and overcome existing difficulties. Strengthening self-confidence;

Referral of subscribers to other services, organizations, institutions, where their requests can be satisfied more fully and efficiently, assistance to people seeking help from professional psychologists;

^

Service activities

The content of the service is the provision of absentee (by phone) psychological services to those who applied.

The urgency of the assistance provided is ensured by the round-the-clock work of the service, maintaining in a continuous working order technical means and equipment by the constant readiness of employees to carry out their duties.

When providing emergency psychological assistance over the phone, the principle of anonymity is respected.

Emergency psychological assistance by phone is provided free of charge

Employees of the service are obliged not to disclose information received during their work that may damage the honor, reputation, rights and interests of citizens.

The service premises must meet sanitary and hygienic standards, fire safety requirements, and have all types of utilities (heating, plumbing, sewerage, electricity, gas, radio, telephone).

^

Service personnel

The staff includes:

Manager (manager);

Supervisor;

Telephone consultants.

Volunteers (volunteers), who work both free of charge and under a contract, can be involved in the service as a supervisor and telephone consultants.

All employees of the service, regardless of education, must undergo special training and internship.
^ Job instructions

• 
  Job description the head of the department of emergency psychological assistance by telephone (Trust Phone).

"APPROVED"

"___" _______ 200__
^ 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1.1. The position of the head of the department of emergency psychological assistance by telephone (Trust Phone) is introduced into the staffing table of the Center for psychological and pedagogical assistance to the population to organize the work of this department.

1.2. The head of the emergency psychological aid department is appointed and dismissed by telephone by order of the director of the Center.
^ 2. JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

2.1. Carries out general management and planning of all activities of the department (hereinafter the Trust Phone).

2.2. The manager is the representative of the service at all levels. Develops and maintains contacts with other institutions and officials of the social security system and other organizations.

2.3. Responsible for the availability of organizational, methodological, material and other conditions for the normal functioning of the service, including the provision of technical means.

2.4. Organizes and conducts advertising and educational work to inform the population about the activities and services provided.

2.5. Develops and submits for the approval of the team the Internal Labor Regulations.

2.6. Organizes the recruitment, selection and training of new consultants and volunteers to work on the Trust Phone.

2.7. Organizes the selection of professional personnel for the work of the department, is responsible for the timely conclusion of contracts with freelance employees.

2.8. Responsible for maintaining the time sheet of consultants, submits it to the accounting department.

2.9. Is engaged in the analysis of statistical data on the results of the work of the Telephone of Trust (every six months).

^ 3. PRESENTED REQUIREMENTS

The head of the department should know:

3.2. Regulatory, instructional and methodological materials for organizing the activities of psychological assistance services to the population by telephone. Advanced domestic and foreign experience in this area of ​​psychosocial work.

3.3. Modern methods of labor collective management, ensuring the fullest disclosure of the creative potential of employees.

3.4. Norms and rules of labor protection, safety and fire protection.

^ 4. HAS RIGHT

4.1. Make proposals to improve the efficiency of your activities and the activities of the Trust Telephone Service to the Head of the Department.

4.2. Independently make decisions within their competence (including: concluding and terminating contracts with service employees; if necessary, make operational replacements consultants, etc.) and be responsible for them.

5.1. Requirements for education and work experience:

13th category - Higher professional education: specialist in social work, psychologist, psychotherapist, or other higher education and additional education in the field of psychology

or psychotherapy with a specialization in psychological assistance by telephone with no seniority requirements.

14th grade - In addition to 13th grade, at least 1 year of experience as a consultant, supervisor or social service leader.

15th grade - In addition to 13, 14 grades, work experience as a supervisor or head of social services for at least 3 years.

6. NOTE:

The working day of the head of the emergency psychological aid department is coordinated by phone with the management in the interests of the productive work of the department. Due to the specifics of the round-the-clock work of the department, the performance of duties by the head can be carried out in a sliding mode throughout the week in agreement with the management.

The head of the department, if necessary, can combine professions (positions) by internal combination.

• ^

  Job description of the supervisor of the "Trust Phone" service

"APPROVED"

"___" _______ 200___

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1.1. The position of the supervisor of the service Trust Phone is introduced into the staffing table of the Center for Psychological and Pedagogical Assistance to the Population to work with the personnel of the emergency psychological assistance service by telephone.

1.2. The supervisor of the Trust Telephone service is appointed and dismissed by the order of the Director of the Center.

1.3. Due to the specifics (around the clock, daily) and in the interests of the productivity of the service, the supervisor's working day is carried out in a sliding mode throughout the week.

1.4. If necessary, the supervisor of the service can act as a consultant of the Trust Phone.

^ 2. JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

2.1. Plans and implements supervisory work (control and professional assistance to the consultant during duty).

2.2. Carries out methodical work with the personnel of the Telephone of Trust service to improve the professional skills of employees. Organizes and conducts educational seminars, trainings, classes.

2.3. In order to prevent “burnout syndrome” organizes and conducts consultations with service employees (monthly).

2.4. Develops teaching materials, recommendations to improve the efficiency of the service.

if necessary, can represent the Trust Telephone service for external contacts.

2.6. Engaged in the recruitment, selection and training of new employees of the Trust Telephone service.

2.7. He is engaged in the primary processing of statistical data based on the results of the work of the Telephone of Trust service (monthly).

^ 3. PRESENTED REQUIREMENTS

The supervisor of the Trust Telephone service should know:

3.1. Fundamentals of Labor Law, regulatory materials social protection systems.

3.2. Regulatory, instructive and methodological materials on the organization of supervisory activities in psychological assistance services to the population by telephone. Advanced domestic and foreign experience in this area of ​​psychosocial work.

3.3. The main methods and techniques used in individual counseling and work with a group, ensuring the fullest disclosure of the creative potential of employees.

3.4. Works in the field of theoretical, practical and applied psychology, follow the development of modern psychological science.

3.5. Fundamentals of psychological diagnostics.

3.6. Methods of general psychology in the study of mental processes and states.

^ 4. HAS RIGHT

4.1. Make suggestions to improve the efficiency of their activities and the activities of the service to the Director of the Trust Telephone.

^ 5. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

5.1. Requirements for education and experience:

11th grade - Higher education and special training in the field of telephone counseling (no seniority requirements).

12th grade - Higher professional education: social work specialist, teacher, psychologist, psychotherapist (no seniority requirements) and special training in the field of telephone counseling or, in addition to grade 11, work experience as a consultant for at least 1 year

13th grade - Higher professional education: social work specialist, psychologist, psychotherapist, or other higher education and additional education in the field of psychology or psychotherapy with a specialization in the field of psychological assistance by telephone and work experience as a consultant or supervisor for at least 1 year.

Regardless of the category, he must undergo an annual retraining in specialization in the field of psychological assistance by telephone in the amount of at least 40 hours.

• 
  Job description of the "Trust Phone" consultant

"APPROVED"

"___" ________ 200___
^ I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1.1. The position of the consultant of the service The telephone of trust is introduced into the staffing table of the Center for Psychological and Pedagogical Assistance to the Population for the provision of emergency psychological assistance by telephone to various categories, social and age groups of the population

1.2. The Consultant of the Trust Telephone service is appointed and dismissed by the order of the director of the Center for Psychological and Pedagogical Assistance.

1.3. The Counselor of the Trust Telephone service reports directly to the head of the emergency psychological aid department by telephone, who organizes the work of the service.

1.4. The consultant's working hours are 8 hours, of which 6 hours - directly telephone consulting (including participation in supervisory work - 2 hours) and 2 hours - methodical work (work with methodological literature, participation in seminars, training groups, preparation of thematic trainings for others consultants, participation in the advertising activities of the service).

^ 2. JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

2.1. The Counselor of the Trust Telephone service provides emergency psychological assistance by telephone to persons in a crisis situation; informs necessary information; records all calls in the journal and statistical sheet according to the codifier.

2.2. The Trust Phone Consultant is obliged to comply with the house rules in accordance with the Trust Phone Code.

2.3. The counselor of the Trust Telephone service is obliged to consult a psychologist once a month for the purpose of mental hygiene.

^ 3. PRESENTED REQUIREMENTS

3.1. The Trustee Telephone consultant should know:

Fundamentals of Labor Law;

Normative documents in force in the service;

Fundamentals of Psychology;

Methodological materials for the provision of emergency psychological assistance by phone;

Coordinates of state, social, special institutions for referring applicants.

3.2. The Counselor of the Trust Telephone service must have the skills used in the work: active listening, Feedback and etc.

3.3. The Consultant of the Telephone of Trust service strives for self-development, expansion of knowledge and general outlook, improves his skills and abilities of telephone consulting.

3.4. The consultant takes part in the creation and distribution promotional materials service.

^ 4. HAS RIGHT

4.1. Make suggestions to improve the efficiency of your activities and the activities of the Trust Telephone service

4.2. To independently make decisions within the limits of their competence and be responsible for them.

4.3. To carry out the problems of work with subscribers that have arisen for him at any next general meeting of employees.

^ 5. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

The Counselor of the Trust Telephone service provides psychological assistance to all categories of the population, including the most difficult (unemployed, families of “risk groups”, minors with deviant behavior; persons suffering from mental illness, alcoholism, drug addiction, and suicidal tendencies), therefore:

5.1. A consultant (regardless of education) who has passed special program training of telephone consultants (100 hours) and an internship with an experienced consultant (at least 20 hours).

5.2. Payment grade requirements:

11th category - secondary specialized, incomplete higher or higher education without a requirement for work experience.

12th category - secondary specialized, incomplete higher or higher education and work experience in the profile of at least 1 year or incomplete higher or higher education in the specialty "Psychologist" or "Practical psychologist" without presenting requirements for experience. 13th category - secondary special, incomplete higher or higher education and work experience in the profile of at least 3 years or incomplete higher or higher education in the specialty "Psychologist" or "Practical psychologist" and work experience in the profile of at least 1 year.
^ SERVICE CODE
Self-Determination of the Trust Phone

The values ​​of the Phone of Trust are: outer circle, inner circle, core

Duties and rights of a consultant.

the contract

Work agreement

Application form

Problem codifier

Currently, the helpline provides an increasing number of "crisis services" and is used by people experiencing any type of emotional crisis: problems associated with family life, adaptation to new conditions, pregnancy, abortion, school conflicts, etc., etc. NS. It can be defined as emergency psycho-preventive care used in urgent cases. E. Romanova "The work of a psychologist on the helpline" - p. 3

Important advantages of telephone assistance are its quick accessibility at night and daytime (the helpline service works around the clock) and its maximum anonymity. In addition, it is characterized by:

• 1. elimination, "non-obviousness" of the psychotherapeutic nature of telephone help, which increases the sense of security and self-esteem (for example, in persons in a suicidal state);
• 2. the ability to break off contact at any time, which is very attractive for persons sensitive to psychological safety;
• 3. "the effect of limited communication", since communication is carried out through a single, acoustic channel, which enhances the verbalization of the experienced situation and thereby contributes to an affective response, reduces anxiety, and also allows to some extent idealize the psychotherapist, which increases the effectiveness of psychotherapy;
• 4. "confidence effect": property telephone connection- the voices of the subscriber and the consultant sounding in close proximity - contributes to the rapid formation of a confidential conversation.

The therapeutic contact takes place in four successive stages. The initial stage is establishing contact, emotional acceptance of the patient. The second stage - intellectual mastery of the situation - consists of structuring the situation, disclosing its connection with the context of the life path, "de-emphasis". The third stage is planning the actions necessary to overcome the critical situation. The fourth stage is active psychological support. If the caller is depressed and there is a risk of suicide, the counselor takes an active leadership position. A different tactic for crisis relationships in the family, at work, etc. In this case, the conversation is non-directive, the problem is discussed together, ways of solving it are jointly sought, while the consultant in no case gives direct advice on what the subscriber should do.

There are also certain inconveniences of telephone service: interference and noise on the line can make it difficult to contact; the consultant is deprived of non-verbal information, which greatly complicates the work; the ability for the subscriber to interrupt the conversation at any moment complicates the work of the consultant. All this places increased demands on both the technical equipment of the helpline stations and the qualifications of its employees.

Listening, counseling, informing the subscribers of the helpline, if necessary - the use of psychotherapy techniques within the framework of telephone counseling. Maintaining the necessary service documentation. Participation in the work of a group of consultants (training, professional development, training, supervision). Participation in offsite events (conferences, seminars, schools, trainings).

The working day takes place in a domestic environment, in a specially equipped room. The duration of the shift is regulated. There are night shifts, work on weekends and holidays. The nature of work is arrhythmic, the load during the shift is uneven and unpredictable. Working posture: sitting, with limited movement, in a comfortable environment. Working on the helpline imposes certain requirements on the quality of a consultant's training. A helpline counselor must have a certain level of education. The most preferred specialists are psychiatrists, psychotherapists, psychologists, teachers, social workers. Practice shows that a hotline consultant deals with an extremely heterogeneous population group in terms of age, gender, level of development.

It follows that the basic principles of a telephone consultant are anonymity and trust (confidentiality). When contacting the helpline service, the subscriber is not obliged to identify himself or inform about his location. This gives him the opportunity to freely talk about personal problems and difficult situations, which, due to anonymity, turn out to be, as it were, separated from him, and the subscriber can look at them from the outside. For some, this attitude is formed gradually in the course of a consultative dialogue, while others use anonymity, discussing situations that allegedly happened with their relatives or friends, but in fact related directly to them. In both cases, the consultant needs to form and support the subscriber's position of "looking from the outside" favorable for psychological correction, which contributes to a more productive perception of a difficult crisis situation. A.N. Mokhovikov "Practice of telephone consulting": NPF "Smysl", 2001, p. 42

Helpline (TD) is a service that provides emergency psychological assistance to the population by telephone. It is considered one of the forms of psychoprophylactic work, social therapy and counseling, addressed to people in crisis. Telephone consulting is now recognized all over the world, it is actively developing and improving.

Psychological assistance over the phone has several advantages:

1) it is available to the public around the clock, and contact by phone is possible if there is no opportunity or desire to meet with the consultant in person;

2) consultations on TD are free;

3) anonymity is ensured and confidentiality of communication is guaranteed for both the subscriber and the consultant;

4) often the psychotherapeutic nature of telephone help is implicit, which increases the feeling of security and self-esteem of the subscribers;

5) a frankly confidential nature of communication is formed contributes to an affective response, catharsis, which reduces the feeling of anxiety, and also increases the effectiveness of the psychotherapeutic effect of the conversation;

Telephone service Trust offers time-limited, instantly available support to anyone who is lonely, desperate, stressed, or close to suicide. Psychological assistance over the phone is one of the most difficult areas of psychological practice and has its own characteristics in contrast to face-to-face counseling.

Speaking about the specifics of counseling through a helpline, the following distinguishing features of distant psychological assistance can be distinguished:

· Lack of preliminary preparation for the call, due to the fact that those in need of such assistance can call at any time and address a wide variety of problems, so the consultant must be in a state of readiness all the time;

· The consultant is deprived of non-verbal information, which greatly complicates the work with the subscriber;

· The time of conversation with the client is limited (an exception may be calls from subscribers with a suicidal orientation);

· The need to fully control the contact, since the subscriber can interrupt the conversation at any time and no longer call;

· High intensity and emotional richness of the consultant's work;

· Lack of opportunity to choose clients, in contrast to full-time counseling;

· The consultant is no longer protected from insults, jokes, sexual manipulations, threats;

· Often there is no possibility of assessing the effectiveness of psychological counseling, information about the further choice of the client's actions, which is especially important when working with subscribers in the stage of acute suicidal activity;

· The time for making adequate and responsible decisions is limited;

· While working on the telephone line, interference and noise may occur, which not only complicates the contact itself, but significantly reduces the trust and psychotherapeutic effect of communicating with the patient.

TD employees around the world are guided in their work by international norms and principles adopted by the General Assembly of the International Federation of Emergency Telephone Services (IFOTES, Israel, July 1994). According to these norms, helping a person in the form of a conversation means giving him courage in order to overcome a life crisis. The task of the TD employee is to help him define his own values, individuality and feel his independence.

The therapeutic contact takes place in four successive stages.

First stage- establishing contact, emotional acceptance of the patient. Second phase- intellectual mastery of the situation - consists of structuring the situation, disclosing its connection with the context of the life path, “removing sharpness”. Stage Three- planning the actions necessary to overcome the critical situation. Fourth stage- active psychological support.

If the subscriber is depressed and there is a risk of suicide, the counselor takes an active leadership position.

Different tactics for crisis relationships in the family, at work, etc. In this case, the conversation is conducted democratically, the problem is discussed together, ways of solving it are jointly sought, while the consultant in no case gives direct advice on what the subscriber should do.

Unlike traditional models of counseling conversation, distant counseling involves (with rare exceptions) going through all the stages of the conversation in one call. In this situation, the subscriber cannot count on subsequent meetings (calls). In the format of a telephone consultation, it is practically impossible to carry out diagnostic measures and a long-term systematic and in-depth collection of information. Diagnostics boils down to identifying the problem. It is impossible to collect a complete psychological history in such a short time. But even in the form of distant consulting, the consultant needs to determine what is happening in the life of the subscriber and what is his potential.

Establishing contact with telephone counseling is complicated by the inability to use non-verbal techniques. On the other hand, there are practically no unmotivated customers among those who contact the helpline service. The majority of subscribers, despite the anxiety that is natural for the initial stage of counseling, are focused on interacting with the counselor, which makes it easier to establish contact.

The second stage seems to be more difficult in comparison with face-to-face counseling. The consultant has to structure the information received from the subscriber in a short time, identify the connections between the events, feelings and attitudes set forth, help the client to accurately identify and formulate the problem - to determine the most significant, relevant, since in most cases the client talks about many problems, one way or another related to each other.

The planning stage in counseling on the helpline does not differ significantly from face-to-face assistance, except for the time limit. At this stage, the consultant solves typical counseling tasks: helps the client to comprehensively consider the problem situation, develop and critically evaluate various alternatives for solving problems, and, finally, draw up the most appropriate action plan to overcome the problem situation.

At the final stage, it is necessary to make sure that the client is aware of the independence of his decision, considers it appropriate and effective; assist the subscriber in building self-sufficiency and self-confidence. At the end of the dialogue, the consultant must be sure that the client has made the developed decision, believes in its effectiveness and is ready to follow the plans, taking responsibility for his actions in a particular situation and for future life.

Unlike face-to-face counseling, a consultant can only support the client in his intentions, but he will have to act without third-party support, relying only on himself. When providing assistance over the phone, the specialist is not able to support the client in the implementation of the selected solution. In direct consultative meetings, the client has the opportunity to contact a consultant in the future, for example, when new problems arise. The helpline subscriber does not have such an opportunity. However, as noted by Kociunas, with the effectiveness of counseling, the client should not have a need for new meetings. Consequently, the inability to continue consultative interaction is not a significant disadvantage of distant counseling. The lack of information about the further actions and feelings of the client, to a greater extent, is a source of tension for the consultant himself, since he does not have the opportunity to be convinced of the effectiveness of the work done.

The content of professional activities and basic actions (operations) consultant are as follows: listening, counseling, informing TD subscribers, if necessary - the use of psychotherapy techniques within the framework of telephone counseling. Maintaining the necessary service documentation. Participation in the work of a group of consultants (training, professional development, training, supervision). Participation in offsite events (conferences, seminars, schools, trainings).

The working day takes place in a specially equipped room, in which only service employees can be. The duration of the shift is regulated. There are night shifts, work on weekends and holidays. The nature of work is arrhythmic, the load during the shift is uneven and unpredictable. Working posture: sitting, with limited movement, in a comfortable environment.

Working on the helpline imposes certain requirements on the quality of a consultant's training. The TD consultant must have a certain level of education. The most preferred specialists are psychiatrists, psychotherapists, psychologists, social workers.

Practice shows that a TD service consultant deals with an extremely heterogeneous population group in terms of age, gender, and level of development.

All this places high demands on both the technical equipment of the TD stations and the qualifications of its employees. The specifics of telephone consulting, a number of the above difficulties make it possible to attribute the work of hotline specialists to activities in extreme conditions, which makes actual problem their "burnout".