Free Phone and Online Counselling

Free helpline offering phone and online counselling for Victorians

SuicideLine Victoria is a 24/7 telehealth service that offers free, professional telephone and online counselling for people living in Victoria aged 15 years and older.

With its less confronting approach, many people find a phone and online counselling helpline a valuable alternative to face-to-face counselling. Our qualified counsellors specialise in working with suicide-related issues and mental health concerns and will assist you in working through difficult emotions.

 

 

How SuicideLine Victoria can support you with mental health and suicide prevention

If you’re thinking about contacting SuicideLine but are not sure what to expect, here’s how our counsellors can help you:

 

1. Expert counselling

All calls are answered by our professionally trained counsellors, who are highly qualified and experienced to support you. Our counsellors have a tertiary qualification in a relevant discipline (e.g. counselling, psychology, social work) with a minimum of 456 hours of counselling experience.

Our counsellors can help you with mental health issues, including:

• Anxiety and worry
• Depression and sadness
• Grief and loss
• Stress
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Feeling like you cannot cope

Our counsellors are also very experienced with suicide-related issues and can provide help:

• If you are feeling suicidal
• If you are recovering from a suicide attempt
• If you are concerned about someone
• If you are bereaved after a suicide

Our counsellors can also help you with goal planning, ensuring your safety, and linking you to other services in the community.

You don’t have to be at crisis point to use our service – you can contact us anytime. Our counsellors will listen and help you find ways to feel better.

 

2. No referral needed

You do not need a medical referral to contact our service and speak to a counsellor. This means you can access free, professional counselling at any time by simply calling 1300 651 251 or clicking the online chat button on the right-hand side.

 

3. Single and multi-session counselling

SuicideLine Victoria can provide a one-off counselling session, or you may be eligible to receive up to four additional sessions.

 

Phone counselling

Our phone counselling is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and all calls are answered by professional counsellors.

Online chat counselling - what you can expect

• Real-time chat with a professional counsellor on your computer or phone
• A focused session with a professionally trained counsellor
• A free service available 24/7.

 

How to access online chat counselling:

• To access online counselling, click the floating chat button to the right of the screen or the online chat button located at the bottom of each page
• A pop-up chat box will then appear
• Enter your details in the mandatory fields and click ‘Start Chat’
• If one of our professional counsellors is available, you can chat with them immediately.

Note: You no longer need to register your details on our website.

 

 

Video chat counselling – What you can expect

• Counselling support via a video link
• A focused session with a professionally trained counsellor
• A free service available by appointment for people 18 years and older.

 

How to access video chat counselling service:

1. To access online counselling video chat, you will need to schedule an appointment
2. Simply click the video chat button located at the bottom of each page
3. A pop-up chat box will then appear
4. Enter your details in the mandatory fields and click ‘Start Chat’
5. If one of our professional counsellors is available, you will be able to chat with them straight away
6. They will take all relevant details and schedule a suitable time for a video chat appointment to take place
7. Please have handy:

• • Your email address
  • Your reasons for using the SuicideLine Victoria video counselling service.

Note: You no longer need to register your details on our website.

 

 

Help if you are not in Victoria

SuicideLine Victoria is only available to people living in Victoria, Australia, aged 15 years and older (18 years and older for video chat).

Australian helplines

If you are not based in Victoria, you can call one of these national mental health helplines:

Lifeline Australia – 13 11 14

Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467

13YARN – 13 92 76

Beyond Blue – 1300 224 636

Kids Helpline – 1800 55 1800

Emergency – 000

 

Overseas helplines

Unfortunately, we cannot provide assistance to people overseas. We recommend you contact your nearest support service.

Befrienders Worldwide has information on mental health and suicide prevention support services available around the world in multiple languages.