Mental Health
Helplines

Emotional support groups are those groups where people are able to express their emotions freely and without any fear. It is a place where people can share their feelings and support each other through various difficulties. These are the groups where people come together to help one another to overcome their problems and get back to their normal life.

Yes, you can call a mental health rehabilitation helpline anonymously. Some of these services offer a free anonymous number for people to call. You’ll need to ask for this when you call.

You can connect to a mental health helpline whenever you are experiencing intense distress and feel that having a conversation with someone who is non-judgemental, objective and empathetic will help.

Most people call helplines to talk about a variety of topics like substance abuse, financial worries, relationship issues, sexual identity, gender identity, abuse, depression, anxiety, mental and physical illness, loneliness, guilt…

Note: Some helplines offer support for specific issues like anxiety or suicidal thoughts while others may offer general support. Please check the description of helpline to select the one that best suits your purpose.

The helpline is a safe space especially created for you to benefit the most. From these services, you can expect to speak to a trained individual, equipped to deal with such situations (Volunteer/Counsellor/service provider). It is a safe and confidential zone for you to share your feelings, emotions and thoughts without receiving any form of judgment. Moreover, the helpline volunteers/counsellors may refer you to a professional expert in case the volunteers/counsellor feels that it is needed.

This is a carefully designed short-term support program for those in distress. You may feel relieved and helped after just one conversation. If not, you may call the helpline again. However, If you need ongoing support, the volunteers/counsellors will help connect you with relevant institutions that can provide you with the support that you need.

It is possible for this to happen sometimes. Quite often there are Phone or network issues that can occasionally create hurdles in communication. If this happens, You do not need to worry. You can try contacting the helpline again and the counsellor/volunteer will surely help you out. If you have to hang up, you say so to the volunteer you are talking to and disconnect.

Confidentiality is something that the helpline counsellors/volunteers are trained to maintain. The counsellors/volunteers are aware of the importance of confidentiality and follow a strict ethical and confidential code of conduct.

Though we would still recommend that you check out the details about how a particular helpline provider maintains confidentiality on their specific sites. You can also ask your queries related to confidentiality to the volunteer/counsellor on the helpline itself and carry forward the conversation or share any personal details after you are satisfied with the information provided to you by the volunteer/counsellor.

Each Helpline provider has a different set of training that they provide to their volunteers/counsellors. We would recommend for you to check the websites for each of the helpline providers for more details about the qualifications of the volunteers/counsellors.