[wfn]

I'm sorry to hear you had these shitty experiences :( FWIW, I agree with some others who say that it differs between hotlines and it does depend.

I volunteer at one (working at software doesn't provide enough meaning as far as activities go, and this does, as a side thing), and we are very strict about not forcing advice (or rescue) on anyone. (I had to go through multi-month trainings, practice, then supervision etc., we have ongoing seminars and equivalent of QA, etc.) The primary goal is provide emotional support and to give the caller a safe space where they can be heard, openly express and talk about their feelings and thoughts. We are there expressly not to solve any issues they are having. If they need it and consent to it and give an address (the calls are anonymous), we can call an ambulance; but even then the preference is if the caller does that.

I can tell (with some statistics and also lots of feedback) that the support does address the callers' emotional needs to be heard (sometimes to organise thoughts, understand their emotions, to speak to a real human and feel less lonely, etc.)

[kayodelycaon]

I had a whole rant on hotlines, but I honestly didn’t know there were good ones. No one in my support group had a positive story about hotlines.

I am extremely glad good ones exist. If you have a list, I’ll share it with my support group.

Edit: removed my horror story… we don’t need another one on this thread.

[wfn]

I unfortunately don't have a list for the US, I'm based in the Baltics (Lithuania). I've heard good stories from US hotlines but don't know any particular names.