The training of telephone crisis intervention volunteers.
Telephone crisis intervention services are growing at a very rapid rate. A review of the literature reveals that there are very few references to this new phenomenon and even fewer that deal with evaluating the effectiveness of telephone crisis training. Herein 7 articles are reviewed which deal with volunteer selection and training. These articles demonstrate that no consistent rationale for volunteer selection or training exists. Selection of volunteers typically consists of a gross screening to eliminate any obviously unsuitable persons, with training serving as a further sorting procedure where volunteers who are uncomfortable with the role of a crisis interventionist can be encouraged to drop out. The authors suggest that a training model be built around crisis intervention theory using principles of social learning as the methodology for training.
D001290:Attitude; D001364:Awareness; D003142:Communication; D003376:Counseling / Q000193:education*; D003419:Crisis Intervention; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012380:Role; D013689:Telephone; D014838:Volunteers / Q000193:education*; D000092864:Suicide Prevention