When somebody experiences a mental health crisis, being able to reach the right support as quickly as possible can make an enormous difference to the outcome of the situation. It should be treated as any other medical emergency and as with all emergencies, help needs to be reachable when it’s needed.
It sounds like such a simple requirement but the communication challenge beneath it very much exists. Support teams may not always be together in the same location and in a moment of crisis and demand can increase – very quickly – without warning. Regardless of volume, every call still needs to be handled as quickly and reliably as possible.
This is one of the areas where Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is becoming increasingly relevant. Calls are made using an internet connection and because they differ from traditional phone systems in that regard, they offer much more flexibility with how calls are routed and managed. It’s not necessary for teams using VoIP to be in the same location, or even the same country.
A few industry experts have shared their thoughts on the role that VoIP can play in crisis hotlines and mental health support services.
Our Experts
- Dr. Ryan Peterson: Medical Director at NuView Treatment Centre
- Matt Grammer: Founder of Therapy Trainings®
- Gareth Strangemore-Jones: Founder & CEO of Mental Health Matrix
- Dr. Martina Paglia: Clinical Psychologist & Founder of Mind A Porter
- Karolis Jurys: CEO of DIDWW
Dr. Ryan Peterson, Medical Director at NuView Treatment Centre
“Globally, recent cases such as Presley Gerber’s suspected overdose exemplify how narrow the window for psychiatric intervention can be when mental health or addiction crises overlap. I think VoIP-based crisis systems may help a lot because they route calls quickly to trained emergency responders, making support accessible to those who need it.
I think there’s only a small difference between the US and the UK. Speaking from experience as an addiction medicine specialist, speed really matters when attending to persons in crisis because we might only have a brief moment for them to accept help.”
Matt Grammer, Founder of Therapy Trainings®
“VoIP provides mental health and crisis services the opportunity to improve and increase access to mental health and crisis services by offering greater flexibility in call routing and coverage. Utilising VoIP services allows mental health crisis services to provide help to people in need, regardless of whether or not the location has local mental health crisis services.
Typically, the biggest problem when crisis services are needed is getting the individual to connect to a live person. VoIP provides the quickest, most direct and reliable connection.
Poor VoIP service can quickly frustrate and further distress an individual in a crisis and even lead to an increased desire to harm themselves. Crisis services are likely to benefit from VoIP given the increased need for crisis services.
The main challenge with technology is that it can’t solve all problems. The most effective technology for crisis services is technology that is virtually invisible. With crisis services, VoIP improves connection times and reliability.”
Gareth Strangemore-Jones, Founder & CEO of Mental Health Matrix
“VoIP can help a mental health service answer calls from more places, bring in an available worker and keep support running beyond the hours of one local office. When someone has finally found the nerve to call, reaching a person quickly matters.
But a crisis line has to plan for the call that drops, the caller who cannot reconnect and the person who may be in immediate danger. Staff need clear procedures to find out where a caller is, call them back where possible and escalate to emergency services. The service also needs another route in when broadband or power fails.
Privacy deserves the same attention. Using an internet calling platform, including an ordinary Zoom account, does not by itself make a conversation suitable for clinical use. Providers must check their contracts, settings, access controls, recording practices and legal duties. In the UK, that includes protecting health information under UK GDPR; US services may also have HIPAA obligations.
If you’re not fully compliant, you may fall short of the standards demanded by your professional associations and your insurance. In short, you could get thrown out, get into trouble, lose coverage and lose your business if you are not careful.
I use hyper-secure online calls in my clinical work. But I have their phone number from the outset, in case the call drops. The technology can make it easier to reach each other, but people must be able to trust what happens when they answer, disclose something difficult, or lose the connection.”
Dr. Martina Paglia, Clinical Psychologist & Founder of Mind A Porter
“Technology can play an important role in removing barriers to mental health support, particularly when someone needs to speak to another person quickly. For crisis and support services, VoIP can help make services more accessible and scalable, while allowing organisations to connect callers with appropriate support regardless of physical location.
From a psychological perspective, however, the technology should almost disappear into the background. When someone is distressed, they should not have to navigate complicated systems, poor connections or repeated transfers before reaching a human being.
Reliability and continuity are particularly important. A dropped call that might normally be a minor inconvenience can feel very different to somebody experiencing acute distress. Services therefore need robust systems for reconnecting people and clear procedures for situations where contact is unexpectedly lost.
Privacy also matters enormously. People need to understand how their information is being handled and feel confident that seeking support is confidential.
Ultimately, technology should enhance human connection rather than attempt to replace it. The most valuable role for VoIP is making compassionate, appropriate human support easier to reach when somebody needs it.”
Karolis Jurys, CEO of DIDWW
“Running a crisis hotline is operationally demanding in ways that aren’t always visible from the outside. Calls come in unpredictably. Volume can spike without warning. Services often cover multiple regions. The voice service underneath has to handle that without becoming another barrier for someone trying to reach support.
For a long time, that kind of reliability came at a cost that many non-profit and public sector services simply couldn’t justify. Traditional telephony infrastructure was expensive to set up, harder to scale and difficult to manage.
This is one area where VoIP has made a real difference. Telecom services can be managed easily across locations, numbers and capacity can be added as needs change, meaning organisations have more flexibility in how they handle their calls. And the operational overhead that once made this difficult for smaller or non-profit organisations is considerably reduced.
For organisations providing mental health and crisis support, these are not just technical considerations. If the call does not connect, the audio is poor or the service is difficult to reach, the technology has failed at the most basic level. The people running these services deserve infrastructure that simply works – so they can focus on what actually matters.”
