CO-CHAIRS:
The aim of this IASP Special Interest Group (SIG) is to facilitate the exchange and contribution of information, best practice, practical guidance, policy formulation and research across helplines services.
Rationale
Helplines play a vital role in suicide prevention, often attracting those experiencing crisis and/or suicidal thoughts. They ideally provide a safe space to de-escalate suicidal states, explore and reduce distress related to specific crisis issues in a person’s life and provide referrals to other services and broader health and community supports. As a cornerstone of a comprehensive approach to preventing suicide, helplines are often featured in national suicide prevention strategies.
In the past ten years, the research on helplines operations and effectiveness has developed, while further work on research, quality standards and measures of performance and effectiveness is warranted. Recent growth and development of online support services and social media outreach, utilising similar principles and techniques to traditional helplines, also requires research, policy and practice attention towards optimal suicide prevention.
Several SIG members are interested in sharing best practices relating to the establishment and conduct of helplines as well as furthering the evidence base that underpins the work of helplines. This SIG will promote and share emerging research findings on the effectiveness and impact of helplines and support the sharing of best practices amongst SIG Members.
Objective:
Establish an active forum of international experts who will pursue a shared interest in Helplines and related digital suicide prevention services, with a view to making a substantive contribution to improved understanding, practice or policy relating to their operation, effectiveness and impact.
Planned Ongoing Activities:
- Recruitment of SIG members.
- Ongoing planning and delivery of SIG programme of work.
- Annual review of SIG progress and activities.
- Regular update of information on SIG activities on the IASP website.
- Organisation of workshops and symposia at IASP and other international conferences.
- Regular SIG Co-Chair meetings to ensure the timely progress of the agreed programme of work.
Planned Activities During 2024:
- Identify and invite colleagues (especially in LaMICs) to become active members of the SIG and contribute to the fulfilment of its objectives; and
- Work with SIG members to update the WHO’s resource for establishing a crisis line (last updated in 2018) to ensure the document is contemporary and available to all organisations that wish to establish a crisis line (this includes translation of the resource to ensure it is available to more countries across the world). We believe this is important against the backdrop of the ever-growing need for crisis support services across the world.
Membership and Operation of this SIG:
The SIG is open to all IASP members in good standing who are currently operating a helpline or intend to operate a helpline in the near future.
Additionally, targeted invitations to join the SIG and/or its Task Forces will be sent to key identified individuals.
The SIG is supported by four co-chairs – Dr Chris Drapeau, Dr Elizabeth Scowcroft, Thilini Perera and Professor Tim Tong.
