SNS 24 Psychological Advice Line answered more than 280 thousand calls in four years

In the first quarter of this year, more than 15 thousand calls were received from users

The SNS 24 Psychological Advice Line answered more than 280,000 calls in four years and more than 19,000 were made by health professionals, according to data from the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health (SPMS).

In a note released this Monday, the SPMS explain that this psychological counseling service, launched on April 1, 2020, during the initial phase of the covid-19 pandemic, “has played a fundamental role in providing emotional and psychological support all over the country”.

The number of users served on the SNS 24 Psychological Advice Line (LAP) has increased every year, rising from 50,000 calls in 2020 to 64,500 in 2023.

In the first quarter of this year, more than 15 thousand calls were received from users.

In 2022, this service also became available in English, having answered 4,885 calls in this language.

The LAP was launched through joint work between the SPMS and the Order of Portuguese Psychologists and has been “an example of cooperation”, providing an “immediate response” to the urgent needs for psychological support of the population, adds the statement.

The service is provided exclusively by psychologists, who deal with a variety of issues, such as symptoms associated with anxiety, worsening of previous psychopathology and emerging crises.

The SPMS highlight that, in these last cases, the line “plays an essential role in identifying and forwarding situations that pose a danger to the user or to third parties, transferring the call to INEM, which ensures the activation of the necessary assistance means” .

On the other hand, they add, the psychologist can also identify the need for referral to the SNS 24 Screening, Counseling and Referral service, “if they consider that the situation has not been resolved with psychological counseling or if the user presents another type of symptomatology ”.

This mental health outreach response is available every day of the year.