A suicide prevention worker's job doesn't end with a phone call
A day for those working on the front lines of suicide prevention doesn't end with a single crisis call. We take a closer look at their real work, which extends from counseling to referrals and follow-up care. This work is shared by counselors at the 109 suicide prevention hotline, staff at mental health welfare centers and suicide prevention centers, and workers in emergency rooms who help suicide attempt survivors with recovery and follow-up care. A suicide prevention worker's job goes beyond one crisis call: they take calls after 24-hour shift work and ongoing training, and behind each call comes record-keeping, risk assessment, agency referrals, and case management.
Challenges have been raised in the field. According to findings released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare from an on-site inspection of the 109 suicide prevention hotline in May 2025, counselors cited increased workloads from rising call volumes, mental exhaustion from handling high-risk cases, accumulated fatigue from shift work, and the need for better compensation to retain long-serving staff.
Workers' levels of burnout are also reflected in the numbers. In a survey of 155 mid-level managers at mental health welfare service organizations conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs in September–October 2025, 60.0% of respondents rated burnout among staff at their organizations as high. Of eight suicide prevention centers, seven (87.5%) also reported high levels of burnout.
A study published in 2025 in the international journal Frontiers in Psychiatry, which surveyed 224 staff at domestic mental health welfare centers, found that the more trauma related to clients' deaths workers had experienced, the higher their burnout levels, with secondary traumatic stress partially mediating that relationship. A qualitative study published in August 2025, 'A Qualitative Study on Burnout Experiences of Counselors in Mental Health Crisis Intervention Work,' reported feelings of helplessness and self-blame after clients' deaths or crises, emotions that resurfaced in specific situations even as careers progressed, and somatic symptoms alongside empathic numbing.
The card news series released this time, presented in eight cards, covers the duties and expertise of suicide prevention workers that are little known to the public, as well as the support systems needed for them to keep working in the field.
