Texting Hotlines: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Texting has been integrated into virtually all aspects of society, including medical and mental health interventions. Researchers examined the use of crisis hotline among college students and their willingness to consider text-based forms of counseling. A surprising number of undergraduate students expressed willingness to seek counseling support through a text-based hotline. In a one-year study, researchers' text-based hotline was texted more often by women survivors of sexual assault than their traditional hotline alternative. These results should be taken into consideration by college campuses and mental health providers when expanding their mental health interventions to include text messaging services.