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Extending a Helping HandLifeLine Shanghai's Victoria Hines
What is LifeLine Shanghai?Lifeline Shanghai is the first confidential support service for foreigners in Shanghai. We provide confidential counseling, crisis intervention and information to the international community in Shanghai. It's completely anonymous - people can call and talk all they want and go away at the end of it without having to identify themselves. LifeLine Shanghai also serves as a reference point for community organizations seeking information about mental health resources in Shanghai.How long has it been in operation?The service was launched in March this year, after almost two years of planning and preparation. Since our launch in mid-March, we have been providing free and confidential support between 12 noon and 8pm, seven days a week. By mid-August, we will be able to expand our hours of operation from 10am till 10pm, providing service 12 hours a day.How has the response been?We're had a great response. We receive, on average, one call every two hours. Since mid-May, we have seen a marked increase in the number of counseling-type calls. We do receive a lot of information calls too - but some information calls are covers, the callers may actually just want someone to talk to. We're also been receiving calls and queries from expats living in nearby cities such as Ningbo, which has an even smaller expatriate community. I hope we can become 24 hours and China-wide eventually.How many staff members are there? And how many volunteers?There are two permanent positions; the Directorship, which is full time, and then a part time Telephone Volunteer Coordinator who manages the volunteers. We also have a Training Manager who organizes and facilitates the initial training and on-going development courses. With the recent completion of our third training course in June, we now have 50 telephone volunteers ranging in nationalities from Swedish to Indonesian. Our final training for the year will be in early September.What kind of training do the volunteers receive?Once the applicant has completed the extensive application form and interview, they are required to attend a three-day course. LifeLine Shanghai is affiliated with LifeLine International, which started in Australia and has been around for 40 years - our training is based on the organization's international guidelines. Volunteers are trained in active listening - they don't give advice, but they are taught to ask the right questions to help callers come up with their own solutions or work out their options. Two months after the first training, the volunteers have a two-hour session on active listening again.We also have a series of personal development seminars on various lifestyle and mental health topics held regularly with speakers from various social organizations in Shanghai. The topics so far have included drug abuse, stress management and alcoholic treatment. The seminars give the volunteers a chance to learn about the different resources available, and to get together and build team spirit. Our training manager, Alison Hassanein, has 14 years of experience in the UK dealing in stress management and conducting training workshops. How did you get involved with LifeLine?In my previous job with International SOS, an emergency medical evacuation firm, I met with doctors who were noticing an increase in the incidence of various kinds of abuses among expatriates. We had originally thought it necessary to set up a shelter for abuse victims, but then we thought it would be better to try and prevent a situation before it resulted in abuse. LifeLine is really a kind of primary prevention measure. There are two psychologists in Shanghai and they are very busy. The international community is relatively close knit and relationships and friendships are sometimes too close to air problems. We hope that LifeLine Shanghai gives people the opportunity to speak about their issues in an anonymous setting, rather than having to go to their company's human resource department or see a psychologist.What advice do you have for relocating expatriates?I think there is a need to consider everyone in the family - including the children - when relocating. Companies need to provide both staff and families with the support they require to successfully adjust to life in Shanghai and maintain productivity in their job. The initial look-see' visit to Shanghai before moving here can actually create excessively high expectations because of the cosmopolitan feel of the city - but underneath there is still a lot of cultural difference. It's the same for any country really. But I see a huge improvement in cross cultural training and other support from the companies moving their staff here in recent years.Victoria Hines is the Director of LifeLine Shanghai. The operating hours of LifeLine Shanghai are from 12 noon to 8pm. From mid-August, they will be from 10am to 10pm. Call 6279-8990 for free and confidential support and information. |
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