merrill@rex.DEC (01/21/85)
You state that "one of our major problems was with repeat callers" but you do not say what the "problem" was, except that you couldn't "deal" with "these people". Do you mean that you couldn't talk them "out of it"? (I'll assume you don't mean that you were bored, fed up, or too busy to talk with them.) I would worry most about a one-time caller - never knowing what became of them. With a repeat caller you have a chance to observe some interaction, maybe some improved socialization, more openness to others, more awareness of their feelings, broading of interests outside of their own depression. The "best" outcome might be that they help talk with other callers! RMM