An Evaluation of Mental Health Telephone Counselling Services in Hong Kong

Drawing on data collected from the study of callers who had used the Mental Health Hotline and Telephone Counselling Services, this paper highlights the significant roles of the services within the entire mental health care system. Moreover, it also spells out the importance of this service in counteracting the passive help-seeking styles of Hong Kong Chinese, thus preventing unnecessary delays in seeking psychiatric services. This paper also addresses the roles of social workers in providing initial psychiatric assessment, information, supportive counselling and referral services for callers.