The UNDP iCall helpline can be reached at (+91)9152987825 (10 am to 6 pm, Mon to Sat) and (+91)22-25521111 (Mon to Sat: 10:00 am to 8:00 pm)

Introduction

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Due to the unprecedented spread of COVID-19, which has been declared as a pandemic by WHO, there has been the rise of distress calls from all levels of society, due to several reasons (special mention to issues related to lockdown and pandemic).

Now a million dollars question arises, “Where to call up in call of any help required like Panic Attack and other Mental Health-related problems, faced during lockdown and life in the times of COVID?”

So, Team Explicit Facts has worked hard and explored the unchartered waters of understanding the issues related to the distress facilities available within India and abroad, which will surely blow everyone’s imagination.

Without wasting any further time let’s dive into the topic, “Where to Call for Solve Mental Health Problems? iCall Helpline!”.

Why does India need iCall Helpline?

Mental health facilities in India are still quite insufficient owing to the limited number of services being offered as well as, the inadequate number of trained and supervised professionals.

Helpline counselling is a non-traditional form of providing mental health support. It helps in eliminating geographical limitations, is free, and is completely confidential and with the advancement of technology, accessing this help has become easier.

Magic of iCall Helpline

iCALL – (Initiating Concern for All) is a pioneering and empowering mental health project which was started in 2012 by the School of Human Ecology, TISS – Mumbai.

iCALL endeavours to provide professional and free counselling through technology-assisted mediums such as telephone, email, and chat to anyone in need of emotional support, irrespective of age, gender, sexual orientation, or race, and transcending geographical distances while ensuring confidentiality.

Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) has always taken a lead in addressing the psychosocial needs of individuals across various groups and has adopted diverse strategies and solutions to address these needs.

iCALL is one such step taken in the direction of mental health work.

iCall is a telephone and email-based counselling service run by the School of Human Ecology, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, that offers free telephone and email-based counselling services, to individuals in emotional and psychological distress, across age, language, gender, sexual orientation, and issues, through a team of qualified and trained mental health professionals.

When you call iCall Helpline What Can you Expect?

Professional counselling services – All our counsellors and qualified and trained to provide skilled mental health services

Connected to a counsellor immediately – You will not encounter a busy tone or IVR during our work hours and will be connected to a counsellor immediately

Complete anonymity – You do not need to share your name or personal identifying information about yourself

Patient listening

Non- judgmental treatment – You can talk to us about any issue bothering or affecting you without the fear of being judged by the counsellors

Consistent support – We will be there to support you till you feel empowered to deal with your situation or issue

How does iCall Helpline work?

The iCall helpline can identify the caller’s location or state and can guide them towards the appropriate help as well as link them to social protection schemes.

This will not just focus on mental health support but also integrate livelihood issues which is UNDP’s approach of picking up emerging issues as a part of its work.

The service will be made available on email, phone, and chat in Hindi and English in 13 Indian states, including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Gujarat, and Telangana.

Other significant work being done by iCALL Helpline

Conducting workshops and training for corporates, educational institutions, government agencies, and NGOs it is partnered with. The content and length of these workshops and training could be based on the specific needs of these organizations

Mental health outreach activities for institutions via conferences, events, posters, brochures, and talks

Free newsletters for the public at large which aim at awareness building and preventive work

Our social media outreach also addresses mental health awareness for the public at large

Employee assistance programs for corporates

At iCALL, there is a special focus on the marginalized sections of our society such as women facing violence, children facing abuse, the LGBT community, socioeconomically marginalized groups and the survivors of mental illness.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to iCall Helpline

2. How iCall Helpline Helps?

iCALL can provide you with help in the following ways:

• By providing professional counselling via telephone, email, and chat
• By providing information about the various aspects of mental health and providing suggestions that can help improve one’s psychological wellbeing.
• By demystifying the process of counselling for you and helping you feel more confident about this process
•  By providing you with referrals to mental health professionals, doctors, NGOs etc from our exhaustive referral database

3. Who am I talking to when accessing services at iCall Helpline?

At iCALL, all telephone, email, and chat are attended to by trained and qualified mental health professionals who work on a full-time basis with the helpline.

Each of our team members has a Master’s degree in either Clinical Psychology or Counselling Psychology and extensive training to help individuals facing a wide range of issues and challenges.

4. How much can I share with iCall Helpline operator?

There is no restriction on what you can share with the counsellor if you are comfortable with it.

Everything you share with a counsellor remains confidential between you and the counsellors at iCALL.

The communication is done anonymously, and no personal identifying details are mandatorily taken from you.

A very high frequency of calls is not encouraged, to avoid dependence on the counsellors.

However, more than one call in a day can be accommodated at times, considering the sensitivity of the concern, after coming to a consensus about the same with the counsellor.

5. Will everything I share be told to someone?

At iCALL, we follow the policy of shared confidentiality.

After each telephone, email, and chat, information about the case is shared with the other counsellors at the helpline.

Since your call or email can be answered by a different counsellor each time, shared confidentiality helps us ensure that every counsellor has the necessary information and understanding of the case.

This helps to maintain the flow of counselling for you while ensuring that you do not have to repeat any of the information already shared.

6. Do I need to tell you my name?

No, you do not need to disclose your name to us.

7. Can I talk about personal issues/ sexual concerns?

Yes, absolutely. We have numerous clients who have called us and continue to call us to share several very personal and sensitive issues. We ensure that all the concerns shared are listened to and dealt with in the most empathetic and professional way.

8. Will my contact details be recorded?

Our data management software generates a unique profile for you based on your telephone number, which then helps us pick up from where we left off in our previous session with you.

Rest assured that your identity/location is not being tracked using your telephone number.

Your number will never be published anywhere, and you will never receive unsolicited communication from our end.

Even in cases of crisis where we may be required to proactively reach out to you, this shall be done with your knowledge and consent as far as possible.

9. Is my location being tracked?

No, your location is not being tracked.

10. Is my phone call being recorded?

During the current pandemic, as the team is working remotely, the calls are being audio recorded for monitoring purposes and for ensuring quality checks of the services offered.

However, the data will be stored securely, and all necessary steps are being taken to ensure complete confidentiality.

These recordings will only be accessed by the counsellors working at iCALL and will not be made public or be shared with any third party.

11. Where are iCall Helpline centres based?

iCALL is based in Mumbai but we cannot disclose the location of the helpline in the interest of the safety and confidentiality of our counsellors.

In the current pandemic, the team is working remotely from different parts of the country.

12. What are the fees for accessing iCall Helpline services?

At iCALL our Counseling services are free, but you will have to pay the call charges as per your telecom provider.

13. In which languages are iCall Helpline services available?

The languages offered at iCALL are Hindi, English, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Konkani.

14. How many times can I call in a day?

For the effectiveness of the counselling process and for the optimum utilization of time on the helpline, it is encouraged that you have one counselling session, lasting up to 45 minutes- 1 hour, in a day.

However, more than one call in a day can be accommodated at times, considering the sensitivity of concern.

Also, ideally, the counselling sessions should be interspersed in a week, to avoid dependence on the helpline.

Between counselling sessions, the counsellor may ask you to introspect and observe certain thought processes, beliefs, or emotions, the reflections from which you can share in the next session.

Besides, you may also be encouraged to work on some goals identified collaboratively with the counsellor in between sessions.

15. Can I know your name (Name of iCall Helpline agent I talk to)?

At iCALL, we follow the policy of two-way anonymity. We do not ask for your name or personal details and we do not disclose our names either.

16. Will I be given any advice?

Counselling as a process is designed to not provide advice but instead work with you to help you make decisions and find solutions.

The process of counselling is a planned and structured process of a two-way dialogue between the counsellor and you.

The counsellor uses their expertise to help you identify the source of your difficulties and with the use of assessments and interventions they work with you to try and find ways of addressing your concern in a way that will be acceptable to you.

This process of counselling aims at empowering the client to find solutions for himself/herself and follow them through.

17. Can I talk to just venting out?

Yes, absolutely. Please feel free to vent and share whatever you would like to. This is a safe space for you to do that.

18. Will you share what I’ve spoken about with my family/parents/teachers/company?

21. Is your helpline available on holidays?

iCall Helpline at the Times of Pandemic (COVID-19)

After the COVID-19 outbreak, it started providing logistical support to those facing economic hardship as well.

Why? Because not having food to eat or losing a job also impacts mental health.

Pandemic has brought focus on how mental health support is integral to our well-being.

Worldwide helplines have witnessed a steep rise in the number of calls since COVID.

In India, iCALL started getting 2,000 to 3,000 calls a month on its main helpline.

There is also a spike in emails, which increased from a pre-pandemic figure of 600 a month to 500 a week.

After COVID, more people are anxious, depressed, worried and some even suicidal, and helplines have a huge role to play. Why? Because they are free, anonymous, and easily available.

These helplines can be an entry point for people who need mental health services but are unable to go to a psychologist.

In April, iCall launched a dedicated line to tackle COVID related concerns and began collating a list of organizations and food distribution services offering dry rations for online referrals.

Sometimes, they even had to direct people to their nearest gurudwara, temple, or dargah to access food.

Between April and June 2020, it received 500 calls every month.

In December 2020, UNDP India and iCall have partnered to launch a new psycho-social helpline for the vulnerable and marginalized populations such as migrants, waste pickers, people living with HIV AND LGBTQI.

Courtesy – YouTube

How iCall Helpline services cope with Increased Distressed Call Demands?

COVID-19 has given an opportunity to move mental health care to psychological support by adopting the human right framework while addressing the biggest need inequities of basic needs and appropriate information

Existing helplines have also ramped up efforts to cope up with the increased demands.

While iCall has already shifted to cloud-based telephony, which is more suitable in flagging crisis calls while working remotely, Vandrevala Foundation is about to do it and has partnered with other NGO helplines to divert calls.

Vanderala Foundation’s 24X7 helpline has been receiving 175 to 200 calls daily from people from all age groups and areas.

Earlier it would get calls from students trying to beat exam stress in March, every year.

In March 2020, the anxiety was about the pandemic and its outcome.

As layoffs began in April and May 2020, many had a career, business, and financial concerns.

In recent months, students have been calling about trouble with online classes.

A lot of relationships have been broken down, and others have been forced to postpone their marriages.

A steep rise has been observed in calls after 10 pm from people feeling suicidal.

Increased Distress Calls from Women!

At iCall, calls related to domestic violence are on the rise now. The Sneha helpline has been getting more calls from women facing abuse, lonely single seniors, and children frustrated about their parents fighting.

Many calls are from young women who are working independently in cities but are now back in parental constraints without any outlets.

There are also COVID survivors who feel stigmatized by society and women experiencing bereavement after suddenly losing their husbands.

The UNDP iCall helpline can be reached at (+91)9152987825 (10 am to 6 pm, Mon to Sat) and (+91)22-25521111 (Available from Monday to Saturday: 10:00 am to 8:00 pm)

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Courtesy: Times of India

iCall Helpline

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