Quand le téléphone ne chauffe pas : les hotlines psy en situation de pandémie

In Switzerland and elsewhere, many psychological support hotlines were set up during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specialists in psychological first aid, in charge of developing and managing these hotlines, had to face an unknown situation, very different from the disasters for which they prepare themselves. Since the pandemic and the associated physical distancing were a potential threat to social cohesion, one could make the hypothesis that, by setting up hotlines, these professionals sought to reintroduce a form of proximity and to care for and cultivate the social connections among people. The pressure, feelings of emergency, anxious anticipation and expectation of the political authorities and the population may have favoured the development of these structures. Other factors certainly also played a role, such as the need to be useful and to exist as professional, or the need to act in order to reduce anxiety related to the pandemic. Altogether, these hotlines were little used, and their usefulness may be questioned. Similar phenomena have been observed – especially in the sanitary domain – with a multiplication of new offers, not always adjusted to specific identified needs, while health care services were on the same time under-used. Our observations plead against emergency responses in crisis situations and for reflecting on the measures to be put in place rather than to “act” them.