Schizophrenia Daily News Blog

Schizophrenia Hotline Popular

A schizophrenia hotline (a telephone number where people can get their questions related to schizophrenia answered) in Germany has been operating since 2001.

Those who have questions regarding schizophrenia can call the hotline and ask whatever questions they may have relating to the disorder. The German Research Network on Schizophrenia (GRNS) have been maintaining the telephone line and have found that there are an increasing number of people who call the hotline.

"The hotline is manned by clinical experts, psychiatrists, or psychologists once a week. The telephone calls are documented in a systematic manner. From 2001 to 2003, 3,909 calls were registered. This volume exceeds the limit of the hotline's resources. The telephone hotline is mainly used by relatives of psychotic patients. Most questions relate to the symptoms of schizophrenia and pharmaceutical treatment. The need for emotional support is also a high motivational factor for dialing the hotline number" (Wessling et al., 2005).

This hotline is a great and obviously much needed addition to the crisis hotlines that are currently available to the public. Hopefully they will continue to receive public funding far into the future. The US could definitely benefit from having such a hotline because it is often very difficult for families to find a good independent source of information on these topics.

NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) has a "Hotline" of sorts (more focused on their organization I believe) that can be reached at: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264)

Schizophrenia Society of Canada also has a "Hotline" of sorts - at:
1-888-772-4673

The source of this article is Pubmed, written by Wessling A, Wolwer W, Heres S, Mayenberger M, Rummel C, Sievers M, Wagner M, Klosterkotter J, Gaebel W. The orignal article is written in German.

You can access this article at: http://tinyurl.com/8ekzx