IFOTES

IFOTES (International Federation of Telephone Emergency Services) was founded in 1967, to connect and support its members that offer Emotional Support. Today IFOTES has 32 members in 25 countries.

Every three years IFOTES together with a national member organizes an international congress.

The objectives are to:

• exchange experiences and training related to emotional and mental health in various cultural environments
• explore the latest scientific research in plenary sessions and workshops
• further improve the quality of the services offered by members
• increase the motivation for volunteer work in this field

www.ifotes.org

TELEFONSEELSORGE IN AUSTRIA

Telefonseelsorge is a member of IFOTES.

Telefonseelsorge meets the need of those who seek a frank, competent and confidential speaking partner. This possibility is available:

• 24 hours per day
• free of cost & confidential

Telefonseelsorge can be reached throughout Austria under the Emergency Number 142. By omitting the Area Code, the service for the province from which the call is made, will be reached automatically. The possibility to contact Telefonseelsorge through Internet is also available www.telefonseelsorge.at .

Telefonseelsorge in Austria is directly supported by each provincial diocese of the Catholic Church, except in Carinthia, where it belongs to Caritas and in Vorarlberg, where it is legally constituted as a private volunteer organization.

The members of the staff of the Telefonseelsorge work voluntarily, coming from various professions. They all have been carefully trained to provide the service and they continue receiving additional training and supervision.

More than 100,000 telephone calls are received every year. The reasons for calling Telefonseelsorge are very varied. Most commonly loneliness, feelings of rejection, difficult relations with others and emotional problems linked to depression, fear, addiction and thoughts of suicide are expressed.

People of all ages, from all walks of life, make use of the opportunity to "bare their souls" in an anonymous conversation. Most calls are attributed to the age group from 40 to 60 year-olds. Two-thirds of those who call are women. Considerably more than half of the callers live alone, despite their will.

 Co-Sponsors