The impact of their role on telephone crisis support workers’ psychological wellbeing and functioning: Qualitative findings from a mixed methods investigation

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of study participants (N = 18).

		Total n(%)
Gender	Male	7(38.9)
	Female	11(61.1)
Relationship status	Single	3(16.7)
	In a relationship	4(22.2)
	De facto	1(5.6)
	Married	8(44.4)
	Separated	1(5.6)
	Divorced	1(5.6)
Highest educational qualification	Year 10/equivalent	1(5.6)
	Diploma/equivalent	8(44.4)
	Undergraduate university degree	7(38.9)
	Postgraduate university degree	2(11.1)
Country of birth	Australia	13(72.2)
	Other English speaking country	4(22.2)
	Other non-English speaking country	1(5.6)
Center	1 – Metropolitan	4(22.2)
	2 – Regional	9(50.0)
	3 – Regional	5(27.8)
Role	Probationary TCS only	5(27.8)
	Probationary TCS plus paid overnight shifts	1(5.6)
	TCS only	9(50.0)
	TCS plus volunteer role	3(16.7)

Table 2. Themes and subthemes.

Theme	Subthemes	n
TCS role	Motivations for volunteering	17
	Positive aspects of the role	16
	Negative aspects of the role	12
Impact of the TCS role on psychological wellbeing and functioning	Feelings before, during and after a shift	18
	Factors that influence feelings about the shift	18
	Factors related to impact of the TCS role on psychological wellbeing/functioning	18
	Functional impairment	17
	Psychological distress	2
Strategies used to cope with the impact of the TCS role on psychological wellbeing and functioning	Debriefing	16
	Reflection and self-care	13
	Boundaries	11
	Group supervision	6
	Realistic expectations	6
Suggested service strategies to minimize the impact of their role on TCSs’ psychological wellbeing and functioning	Training strategies	5
	Supervision and support strategies	3

Data availability statement

Data from this study cannot be made publicly available for ethical reasons. A condition of ethical approval for this study, which was included in the information sheet used to inform participants’ written informed consent was that individual data would not be reported.