Talk:Crisis hotline

message: Intrigue, in his change summary, asked whether it was a good idea to add links to these services here, and which ones should be listed.  This is an important question - indeed, the entire content of this article is something that should be considered with great care.  We have a responsibility to our own principles and guidelines, but we also have a moral responsibility, in my view, to provide helpful content to those going through a crisis.  A listing of an inappropriate service could, in this case, could do a great deal of harm.  Because of this, I am very hesitant about adding random services willy-nilly in the same manner that you might on another type of article.  Another problem is the enormous fragmentation of such services across the United States.  There is no way we could accurately list them all here; the closest thing to a national service I've been able to find in the US is the relatively new 1-800-SUICIDE service (which automatically refers callers to accredited centres), but I'm not sure of the reputation of this.  
My initial thought was that the easiest way to provide a comprehensive list of reputable organizations was to pass the job onto others - that is, look for international directories and associations, which turned up the website of Befrienders International.  However, this organization folded in January 2003 (I don't know why); the website is currently being maintained by the UK Samaritans (a 50-year-old, UK and ROI-wide service of good reputation), it does have a quite good international directory of services.  Another international organization of note is Lifeline International; Lifeline is by far the biggest such service in Australia, and I presume that they have a good reputation in the countries in which they operate.  Then there's IFOTES, an international assocation of crisis centres operating mostly in continental Europe.  If we list these three, that's a good start, I think, but there still remains the issue about listings in the US.  Can any Americans comment here? --Robert Merkel 22:04, 20 Sep 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree - we should try to keep the list short, one or two services per country (perhaps with another page listing general 'helplines'), and we should check that they are mainstream, legitimate services. How to deal with the US is a puzzle for me. Thanks, Intrigue 23:02, 21 Sep 2004 (UTC)

text: Looks good at first glance, though I'd like some clarification from the website's operator as to whether she has any specific criteria for listing services on it.  By the by, she could also do with some help from a web designer...  --Robert Merkel 02:22, 22 Sep 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: 8 years on from this discussion but I really don't see the list as appropriate.  It's subjective in content, falls foul of WP:NOTDIR and isn't necessarily up to date (I haven't checked).  Wikis are a great place to maintain lists of this type but wikipedia isn't the one for this. NtheP (talk) 09:48, 30 June 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: Another year later, and I agree with NtheP. A list may be appropriate (in the style of the many List of x articles out there), but a directory is not. A list may also not be appropriate (I haven't really looked into it), but a directory surely isn't. Pseudonymous Rex (talk) 14:00, 25 July 2013 (UTC)
replies: text:  Given the duration of this discussion, it seems quite clear that this list cannot be kept up-to-date. I suggest we move the current list into a new article List of Crisis Hotlines, which attempts to be exhaustive. It can't be up to us at Wikipedia to determine which ones are respectable, but we can clearly mark which ones are accredited or recommended by agencies which are able to make such determinations. Sondra.kinsey (talk) 11:52, 27 January 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: We already have List of suicide crisis lines, which, although it is much longer than this, is not exhaustive due to WP:NOTDIR and WP:NOTLINK, and should only include notable entries per the discussion at its AFD. 93 (talk) 23:45, 13 June 2018 (UTC)
thread_title: Adding lists of services

message: "One criticism of suicide hotlines is that those who are determined to kill themselves are unlikely to call one. Also, those with social anxiety may not have the emotional resources to do so. There is no evidence that the presence of suicide hotlines reduces the incidence of suicide."
It is extremally bold to suggest that suicide hotlines don't reduce the incidence of suicide, given their mainstream acceptance by the psychological community. The person who wrote this has provided no support for their claim, and the burden for proof rests with them. Thus, I am removing the paragraph.
"Another issue is that crisis hotlines often contact local authorities. The fear of embarrassment from having the police involved can deter many people who would have otherwise called the hotline."
I believe the issues found in these paragraphs are addressed in the journal article cited in footnote 12.  The author of these article paragraphs does make a brief mention of the journal.  In all the writing however this person may have missed the fact that the journal made a compelling case for the effectiveness of crisis hotlines.  
"Another issue is that crisis hotlines often contact local authorities. The fear of embarrassment from having the police involved can deter many people who would have otherwise called the hotline."  
It is factually untrue that the majority of calls end with authorities being called.  The journal study, from footnote 12 again, found 12.6% of calls requiring this response.  This might deter someone in need from calling a crisis hotline. 
I am putting this here for discussion rather than editing first.  The American Association of Suicidology (AAS) journal article is in PDF form this one can be downloaded in its complete form if you wish to take a look. http://www.atypon-link.com/GPI/doi/pdf/10.1521/suli.2007.37.3.338 Kermitmblank (talk) 05:21, 22 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Unsourced Criticism

message: How about Nightline? (see http://www.nightline.niss.ac.uk/) Its's a service that runs in many Uk universities. 163.1.68.248 23:36, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Nightline Discussion

message: There is currently a discussion at Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals) regarding the use of suicide crisis telephone numbers (which this article includes). The thread is Suicide hotlines. Thank you. TheSpacebook (talk) 01:43, 19 April 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Discussion notice