Flesh and Stone

Online and telephone psychological consultations 24/7 begin in France

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:16:00 -0700

While it's common in the United States and Canada, telephone counseling of patients by psychologists has only recently become an option in France due to

Kat

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:49:18 -0700

It is interesting to learn this is a new development in France.

Once people adapt to this new way of getting help, it's quite likely to have a positive impact on lives and reduce heartache.

Best of luck!

Michael Cosgrove

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:00:29 -0700

I certainly hope so Kat.

It's good to see an American saying positive things about it because I have only visited America and I have not lived there, so I don't really know how effective, or supposedly effective, telephone counseling is judged to be.

This initiative is going to be closely monitored for sure and it will be interesting to find out how it all pans out in France, a country where change is not always readily accepted.

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:22:39 -0700

Kat comments: I think it will be accepted, Michael. There are many reasons people might turn to phone counseling before they would make an appointment to see someone in an office. The main advantage with this type of therapy is its immediacy. It's there when you need it. Also, it's easy. Making an appointment can seem like a lot of work to a truly depressed person. They could talk themselves out of making the appointment, or not show up on the appointed day. I'm impressed that this program relies only on "fully qualified and trained psychologists."

The US has many (thousands?) crisis counseling "hot lines" but many of them are staffed by volunteers, not licensed psychologists.

This new French program has that as an advantage. It occurs to me that in US programs using volunteers, the emphasis is on engaging the caller and making appropriate referrals, and not so much on actual "counseling."

In any case, with 89 suicides a day, the U.S. needs both pros and volunteers. I’m glad there is ready access for those in need.

Again, kudos to Jean-Pierre Camard for launching “La Consultation de Psychologues par Téléphone” in France.

Thanks for telling us about it, Michael.

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Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:21:55 -0700

I am not surprised this proposed law has surfaced in France. Many forms of enlightenment, revolution and revelation inspired by such names as Voltaire and Thomas Paine (not French) originated in France. When you break it down all forms of sarcasm, bickering and verbal insult of any kind to any one is not only a recipe for divorce, but the beginning of the end of any relationship.Obviously a tremendous amount of fine tuning will be required to make the above viable, but just the very idea that this law is being considered may cause guilty persons to seriously reflect on their behavior in the near and distant future.

Michael Cosgrove

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:09:21 -0700

"The US has many (thousands?) crisis counseling "hot lines" but many of them are staffed by volunteers, not licensed psychologists."

Yes, that is a major difference, and an important one. I mean, I can imagine being on a hotline and I suppose I have had enough experience of life to be able to keep my cool and not say completely the wrong thing to a caller, but psychologists are trained in this discipline after all.

That said, any voice must be better than no voice for those who need someone they can talk to.....

Sandy Sand

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 07:52:02 -0700

What a great idea! and something I thought should have been done long ago.

Imagine someone with agoraphobia having to sit in a waiting room or walk through a crowded lobby to visit his shrink.

Or the person who's claustrophobic or simply terrified of elevators, and has to take an elevator up to the 13th floor.

sara star

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:28:24 -0700

Hi Michael - It does sound convenient and I think it is great to have this option.

However it will not be able to offer the full meal deal. Some things need a human touch. If I am able to say this here, it is like having sex on line. It is not quite the same. You can't get touch through a screen. In counselling, when there is a "breakthrough" at a time when real healing happens, it can be quite traumatic and the client needs to feel they are not alone at this time.

However, the idea that people from "out of the country" can consult with him intrigues me. Or if someone is traveling, they would still have access to him.

International counselling... Hmmm...

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Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:05:09 -0700

Hi Guy's,
When you break it down all forms of sarcasm, bickering and verbal insult of any kind to any one is not only a recipe for divorce, but the beginning of the end of any relationship.Obviously a tremendous amount of fine tuning will be required to make the above viable, but just the very idea that this law is being considered may cause guilty persons to seriously reflect on their behavior in the near and distant future.