The stress factor

It is often said that a problem shared is a problem halved, but can talking through worries with a stranger really help to resolve the issue at hand? Increasingly, advice is being offered over the telephone and many people are anonymously seeking reassurance and help from trained professionals on the other end of the line. The concept of advice help lines is not particularly new however. The Samaritans, founded in 1953, is a well-established advice and counselling service in the UK. It received over 4,660,000 contacts in 2002, 94% of which were by telephone. In a working environment howev...