JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Online counselling chat services are increasingly used by young people worldwide. There is a growing body of literature on the use and effectiveness of these services for adolescent mental health. However, there is also a need to provide an overview of the main existing resources to identify unmet needs and gaps that exist in the field.

Objective:

This study aims to provide an overview of existing online counselling chat services aimed at people aged 12-30 years in four European countries (Belgium, Finland, Spain and Hungary), and to detect potential needs and gaps comparing the data collected with recognized quality standard criteria defining best practice in the field of counselling.

Methods:

An internet search was conducted in the four participating countries using the same keywords to identify the main chat services. The final selection of chat services was made using a stratified purposive sampling method. A common data extraction database was developed for recording information of the chat services from these websites. Finally, a comparison was made between the information extracted and the fulfilment of seven selected criteria from the Child Helpline International Quality Standards Framework. Some chat characteristics were compared with the number of Child Helpline Quality Standard criteria fulfilled.

Results:

The search identified a total of 66 service providers offering 71 different chat services. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) represented 63% of the total service providers., Other additional helplines such as hotlines were also offered in 83% of the services providers., Some artificial intelligence tools were incorporated in 9% of the chat services. There were differences between countries; for example, the use of volunteers as counsellors was predominant in Hungary and Belgium. Topic-specific chat services were common in Belgium and Spain, while in Finland and Hungary chat services generally welcomed all kinds of topics for young people to discuss. Comparisons with Child Helpline International's recommendations revealed some gaps, such as only 13% of chat services operated 24 hours a day, and only 14% of chat services offered interactions in minority groups or foreign languages. In addition, the use of free social media platforms for chat services was very common in some countries, which could compromise users' privacy. Being part of the Child Helpline International consortium was marginally associated with meeting a higher number of standard criteria (Coeff: 1,55; P = .076).

Conclusions:

This study provides a comprehensive overview of existing online chat counselling services in four European countries. Our findings suggest that some existing chat services for young people should be improved in terms of time accessibility, data security, and the coverage of some vulnerable groups. Reporting this information will help to improve the quality of existing and emerging chat services.