Telephone counselling in psychiatry.

Aim of study: To study the description of callers using a telephone helpline to improve support to patients in between appointments. Method: This includes creating a helpline in the department and getting psychiatrists, medical officers, psychologists and social workers trained to man this line during office hours. Information from callers were recorded and analysed using SPSS for MS Windows version 6.0. Results: The callers were mainly females calling about personal problems, namely psychiatric symptoms and sleep difficulties. Half were given specialist appointments and one-fifth were discharged after telephone counselling. Conclusions: Telephone counselling is useful in clarifying medical instructions and supporting psychiatric patients in between outpatient appointments.