Voluntary telephone pastoral care: comfort and stop in the Christmas season!

Voluntary telephone pastoral care: comfort and stop in the Christmas season!

In Austria, telephone counseling is an important point of contact for people in crisis situations. According to Gerhard Darmann, the head of the Austrian telephone counseling, more than 170,000 talks were held about the hotline 142 in 2023. That is over 450 discussions every day, which are mostly initiated by people, seek support in emotional challenges. Especially at Christmas time, which is associated with loneliness and concerns for many, telephone counseling sets standards in psychosocial accompaniment. More and more people are also using the online advice, which has covered both chat and mail consultations, which has led to an increase in calls, as

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An exciting new offer will be introduced in 2025: from July, those seeking advice can seek advice on WhatsApp. This offer will complement the existing chat advice that has been available since 2016. Darmann emphasizes that across all communication channels are a third of the client men who often find it difficult to use personal consultations. The topics that are addressed are also diverse and range from everyday problems to serious mental illnesses and relationship conflicts.

A consultant of telephone counseling, Rudolf, reported in an interview about the most common topics that reach him. The clients often bring up traumatic experiences, such as violence or bullying. The sensitive discussion, which is about creating a protected space for open communication, is essential. Rudolf emphasizes that it is important to offer the callers targeted help by referring them to departments. The open type of communication makes it possible to gently address topics, and often deeper emotional causes that can be developed together are shown behind the foreground problems.

Overall, the volunteers of telephone counseling do a valuable work and create a trusting space for those who seek help through a committed and empathetic approach. As evangelisch.de , the goal is not only to offer the callers short-term help, but also to enable long-term support in crisis situations.

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