Quote:
Originally Posted by Red M
rutgers07,
Have you ever heard some of the less competent phone counselors explain why they choose to volunteer at crisis lines? I was curious as to why they would sign up if they are going to be dismissive and insensitive toward callers.
|
Just to be clear Red, I am not a volunteer but an employee of a local mental health agency. In my state, you cannot be a crisis worker unless you work with a designated mental health agency.
As to your question, I can't say that I know. I think part of the problem is their training. The easy answer to life's problems seems to fall to something like, "just get over it," when of course it's not that simple. Without proper education and clinical experience, it's difficult to provide mental health support over the phone since it is very tricky to do. I'd suspect that those folks believe what they are saying is truly helpful and do not have the guidance or supervision to be told otherwise.