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• “I’m aware that you could be helped by someone other than the volunteers at the Crisis Center. Please take these phone numbers.”
• “What you are talking about is not covered by our services. Let me give you the numbers of someone who could.”

Terminating the Call

• “I’ve enjoyed talking with you, and I hope this conversation has helped you feel a bit better; I need to open up the line again.”
• “I will need to end the call now. Have a good day.” Or, “I need to hang up now.”
• “Our time is up. Have a good day.”
• “It’s time for us to wrap up. I’m glad you're doing better.”
• “I’m going to have to free up the line for another caller now. Thanks for calling.”

General Guidelines for Working with Repeat Callers

• Short-term, focused crisis intervention model is usually not effective. Reflection, clarification, and open-minded questions do not seem to be effective. It is better to be direct, frank, gentle but firm.
• It is important to tune into the pattern. There is a theme behind the words, such as loneliness, helplessness, dependency, etc.
• The work with the caller should focus on specific, reality-oriented, here and now steps.
• Proceed in small steps; change takes a long time for repeat callers.
• It is important to set and maintain limits: length of call, call frequency, focus of call, etc. Consult the Frequent Caller bios in the Shift Management binder.
• It is important to maintain person-to-person interaction, as contrasted with letting the caller talk about other people or other volunteers/staff, etc.
• Encourage the development of other support systems.
• Support the caller’s pursuit of therapy. Avoid the caller’s attempts to get you to minimize the importance of therapy or to drag you into conflict with the therapist.
• Continue assessing for suicide risk.
• Continue to give a clear definition of what the Crisis Center provides as a service. Resist the urge to provide a service that the caller hopes you will give (friendship, dependency, collusion, etc.)
• Be comfortable with ending the call, if all of the above have been done, even if the caller is angry about it.