Demographic Insights from a Mental Health Telephone Helpline for the Punjabi and Sikh Community

Mental health telephone helplines serve as vital access points for individuals experiencing psychological distress, offering immediate, <br/>anonymous support from crisis interventionists and resource specialists. While widely accessed globally, limited research exists on the <br/>demographic characteristics and help-seeking behaviors of helpline users, particularly outside the United States and within racially <br/>marginalized or culturally specific communities. This study begins to address that gap through a secondary content analysis of caller data <br/>collected between 2018 and 2023 by Sikh Your Mind, a UK-based mental health nonprofit serving Punjabi Sikh populations. Findings suggest <br/>that the primary difficulty identified by the 538 calls was due to mood dysregulation (33.8%) and relationship difficulties (23.6%). Further <br/>findings in relation to caller demographics and outcomes of helpline engagement are detailed alongside limitations and future research.