Calls to mental health helpline by Swiss youth on the rise

The number of calls about self-harm is on the rise, worrying mental health specialists in the country. © Keystone / Goran Basic

The Pro Juventute Foundation, a charity dedicated to children and youth, has noted a significant increase in the number of calls to its support hotline from young people in Switzerland. The average length of calls has doubled, while consultations concerning self-harming behavior are on the rise.

The number “147” is Pro Juventute’s free and confidential helpline for young people to call with concerns or questions. The duration of calls to the hotline has increased in the last couple of years. In 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, a call lasted around 5 minutes on average, compared with almost 10 minutes in the first half of 2023.

+ Psychological problems has become main reason for youth hospitalisations

Almost half of these calls concern mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. Among the more serious cases, 7 to 8 young people a day call 147 for suicidal thoughts. Pro Juventute also reports that cases of self-harm have particularly increased in early 2023.

Increasingly complex situations

For Anne-Florence Débois, Head of Policy and Media at Pro Juventute, the increase in call duration is due to increasingly complex situations. “When a young person calls us, he or she is experiencing multiple problems. It takes time for the counsellor to prioritise them and help them find possible solutions,” she explains to Swiss public television, RTS.

Among the most common complaints, young people cite “anxieties, fears, concerns and a great apprehension about connecting with others after the Covid. They have a lot of questions about their future. The subject of the climate crisis has also come up recently,” says Débois. “Some 15-year-old girls are calling to say they know they don’t want to have children.”

Sometimes, the seriousness of the situation of young people calling 147 requires immediate action. In the first half of 2023, 74 interventions were recorded, 35 of them in French-speaking Switzerland.

“These are times when the young person is in crisis or there is a risk of endangerment. Cases of self-injury are also on the rise, so there’s a certain amount of self-harm involved.” In these delicate situations, the person on 147 calls the police or ambulance directly to intervene at home.

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