Telephone Crisis Support Workers' Psychological Distress and Impairment
Taneile A Kitchingman1,2, Coralie J Wilson2,3, Peter Caputi1
11 School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Australia.
Crisis
|March 25, 2017
Summary
Telephone crisis support workers may experience psychological distress, impacting their performance. Further research is needed to understand well-being
Area of Science:
- Mental Health
- Occupational Health
- Crisis Intervention
Background:
- Crisis workers must manage their own needs alongside those of individuals in crisis.
- Understanding the psychological impact on crisis support personnel is crucial for effective intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review literature on psychological distress in telephone crisis support workers.
- To examine if elevated distress symptoms impair the performance of these workers.
Main Methods:
- A systematic literature search was conducted in April 2015.
- Databases, gray literature, and citation chaining were used to identify relevant studies.
Main Results:
- Seven studies were included, suggesting telephone crisis support workers experience vicarious traumatization, stress, burnout, and psychiatric disorders.
- Elevated distress may impair optimal response to callers, but data limitations exist.
Conclusions:
- Urgent need to identify the impact of the role on worker well-being and its determinants.
- Understanding well-being's impact on performance and caller outcomes is essential for developing support strategies.
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