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"A few kind words are better than any pill" - caller to SANELINE
SANELINE was established in 1992 as the first national out-of-hours telephone helpline offering practical information, crisis care and emotional support to anybody affected by mental health problems. The service is open from 12 noon until 2am and receives tens of thousands of calls every year from service users, family members, carers and health professionals. SANELINE is an active member of the Telephone Helplines Association.
All calls are answered by volunteers, who undertake an extensive training programme recognised by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Over 200 volunteers provide 2,000 hours of support every month and are supervised by a team of paid co-ordinators. A call to SANELINE is charged at local call rate irrespective of where someone phones us from in the UK. All calls are treated in absolute confidence and callers' details are not passed on to anybody - in fact, callers do not even have to tell us their name if they wish to remain anonymous. The volunteer they speak to will be non-directive and non-judgemental and will be able to listen and discuss options available to them.
"In all the years of contact I've had with services, SANELINE's staff were the first people to talk to me about my experiences like one human being to another" - caller to SANELINE
SANELINE volunteers are able to
- offer support and a listening ear during times of crisis
- give information to enable someone to make informed decisions
- put someone in touch with services in their local area
- provide up to the minute details of medical, complimentary and psychological treatments
- help with current mental health legislation and the mental health system
SANELINE volunteers are supported by an unparalleled database, 'SID' (SANELINE Information Database), which contains over 15,000 records on local and national mental health services and treatment information. This includes information on medication and its side-effects, mental health and other organisations and mental health law. SID is updated on a daily basis by a team of dedicated helpline information officers and is used by a number of agencies nation-wide as their primary source of information.
"It is useful to be able to get the side effects of medications in user-friendly terms to pass on to my patients" - caller to SANELINE, working as a community psychiatric nurse
Anyone who requires more help or information than can be given in a single call will be offered a 'call-back', from one of SANELINE's highly experienced 'Caller Care' team, who will offer to stay in touch over the following days, weeks or for as long as callers require.
"Even if I'm too depressed to answer, I know that it's SANELINE ringing at the time they promised and that makes me able to live through another day" - Caller Care client
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SANE is Limited by Guarantee:
SANE, 1st Floor, Cityside House,
40 Adler Street, London E1 1EE
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Copyright ©SANE 2000
Registered company number 2114937
Registered charity number 296572
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