*November 3, 2010* "Where do you think I should jump from, the fourth floor or the eighth floor?” asked a seemingly composed voice on the phone.
Divya Venugopal, all of 22 and barely into her first job as a counsellor at a suicide prevention helpline, was scared out of her wits. But she managed to keep her voice steady. “It took almost three hours, from 12.30am to 3 in the morning, to calm him,” recalls Venugopal, who was doing the graveyard shift that night about a year ago. Venugopal’s caller was a middle-aged man fighting a losing battle with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. “He found his condition embarrassing. It confined him to his house, as a result of which he had lost his job and was depressed. He told me he had written a suicide note, kissed his wife and son, and was wondering where to jump from,” says the counsellor, dressed casually in a white shirt and jeans. Venugopal started off by telling him that he was not alone and that his condition could be treated. It took three hours, but she managed to divert his mind. That wasn’t all. “I spoke to him every two hours. Even after my shift ended, I ensured that he was called regularly in the next 24 hours, at the end of which we made him visit a psychiatrist,” she says, the success story bringing a hint of pride to her voice. Three-tier help Started in August 2009, the Vandrevala Foundation’s 24-hour suicide prevention helpline (022-25706000) offers telephonic counselling for a range of mental health issues. Twelve counsellors, 11 of them girls, all certified clinical psychologists in the age group of 23 to 27 years, have undergone a rigorous 18-day training session, complete with mock calls, in preparation for handling calls that come to the helpline. “The operation is backed by a sophisticated IT communication system which enables eight people — including psychiatrists, fire and disaster control, and police stations — to simultaneously listen in when a caller is on the phone,” explained Dr Arun John, chief, healthcare division, HIRCO and the person-in-charge of the helpline. The helpline follows a three-tier system. “The call is first received by a trained clinical psychologist, and then, depending upon the severity and complexity of the call, it is escalated (transferred) to tier II level, which is manned by trained psychiatrists. In life-threatening cases, wherein the caller may exhibit violent or suicidal tendencies, or in acute psychiatric emergencies, the call is escalated further and senior psychiatrists also get involved,” says Dr John. The helpline also has tie-ups with back-up services to deal with psychiatric emergencies. Before the third ring In their air-conditioned office in Powai, a group of three counsellors works in three shifts, manning the 24x7 suicide prevention helpline. It seems like an easy shift, (not a single call has come in since the shift started at 2 pm), and so the counsellors, a happy bunch of young girls, discuss their stories. “We had a caller from Chennai, who claimed he had taken 30 tablets of a psychiatric drug, Alprazolem, because his wife ill-treated him. The man went silent in the midst of the conversation. It later turned out that he had had alcohol, which, coupled with the drugs, had made him hallucinate,” says Neha Singh, 27, another counsellor. “Fortunately, we were able to get his son’s number. We then requested a Chennai-based NGO to contact the family and arrange for a senior psychiatrist to treat him,” she added. The caller, who suffers from schizophrenia and relationship issues, had changed 20-odd psychiatrists in the last 15 years, but now calls up the counsellors at the helpline regularly, thanking them for saving his life. “We get a lot of thank you calls,” say the counsellors in unison, breaking into wide smiles. Once a caller from Bareilly, who had promised one of the counsellors that he would not commit suicide (counsellors are always expected to ‘make a pact’ with the caller, binding him/her into a contract in a bid to prevent an attempt in case a suicidal tendency arises), called up to say he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise. “We talked him out of it,” remembers Prajakta Sardesai, 23, another counsellor. “We also arranged help for a lady who used to call up to complain about her abusive alcoholic husband,” recalls Asha Ingle, a 23-year-old counsellor. And then, at around 3.45pm, out of the blue, the phone rings, and the mood in the room changes. Every call has to be answered before the third ring. “Time is of essence. Every person who is feeling suicidal has a second thought, even if it’s for 1/10th of a second. That is when they call the helpline. And that’s why it is so important to answer the phone as fast as possible,” explains Dr John. “I know being in a relationship is not easy. It’s all about compromise. Talk to your wife about how you feel,” Venugopal speaks into the mouthpiece of the telephone. http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report_a-call-centre-that-sells-life_1460016 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/MhaNewsViewsIndia?hl=en ------------- Affiliated Groups : MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY INDIA [email protected] Discussions on mental health law / policy / plan monitoring / human rights etc [email protected] India-specific news and views related to mental health [email protected] Information and support to carers of people with mental health issues [email protected] Mutual support and sharing of experiential knowledge, skills and social learning amongst peers
