Why 7 Cups of Tea (and similar services) have the potential to be game changing

7 Cups of Tea logo

For those of you who are unfamiliar with 7 Cups of Tea, it is a fantastic service that seeks to provide support to those who need it, using volunteers who offer their time, often on a scheduled basis. These volunteers are referred to as ‘active listeners’; a technique used in counselling that effectively involves repeating what is heard, and offering questions in order to delve deeper into the issues that the participant faces. It’s understandable that upon first hearing this, you may question the effectiveness. It is, however, a skill that is acquired; not a simple task that is instantly understood. At its least effective, it may come across as condescending and simple repetition. At its most effective, it can help those seeking help gain a better perspective of the situation they are facing.

Three reasons why I feel this service could be game changing: 

1. Mental health problems are real, serious, and growing
Statistically, it is reported that a quarter of the population (in the UK) will suffer from mental health issues during one year. The most common of these issues include depression and anxiety; unsurprisingly, areas that are both extremely prominent within 7 Cups of Tea’s support networks. The same source also reports that only 1 in 10 prisoners have no (known) mental health issues; without making bold claims, this statistic could easily be used to argue that when left without proper support, mental health problems can (and do) escalate into something more serious. Services like 7 Cups of Tea help to offer people solutions to these problems, providing them with support as frequently as they need it in order to overcome them.

2. Mental health is costly business
Using a conventional therapist or counsellor typically costs a patient somewhere between £10 and £60. At such a great expense, regular therapy is unlikely to be something that can be done subtly; it is unlikely, for instance, that a teenager could routinely visit a therapist at £40 per hour without somebody noticing. Aside from cost, this also leads to practicality. 7 Cups of Tea allows for conversations anytime (although with a short wait), and for any practical length. In addition, the feeling of privacy that comes with 7 Cups of Tea allows great comfort for members; in-person counselling typically requires face-to-face communication. This could be particularly difficult for some issues, such as those dealing with anxiety.

 3. The catch-all: 7 Cups of Tea is universal 
It’s true, other services do exist for teenagers and the likes: Childline, a phone and online chat provider that utilise professionally trained counsellors (though still volunteers) come to mind. This service is certainly helpful to many, though Childline state that they are unable to provide support once a person is over 18. Services ‘thin out’ over this age, and generally it would be recommended that you start looking into a professional and paid service. 7 Cups of Tea is an option for people of any age: for instance, I recently communicated with a 31 year old on the topic of relationship issues. It is not geographically limited; listeners are from all over the world with an array of languages, meaning that people can come from anywhere.

Despite those (and many other) positive aspects of 7 Cups of Tea, in my view the service also has some faults. Active listening is a technique that very much involves non-verbal communication, impossible to communicate by this medium. ‘Training’ for listeners entails reading articles and answering relatively straightforward questions; there is no real screening process for candidates. It is sometimes difficult, as a listener, to know when it is necessary to recommend a person pursue further professional support. This leads onto responsibility verses liability; at what point does a listener become concerned that their actions could affect the wellbeing of another person? Despite the emphasis 7 Cups of Tea place on not providing advice, it is simply impossible for a human being to avoid personal bias coming across in any communication. I personally cannot think of many conversations I have held where I have had absolutely no view on the topic, silently or otherwise.

A diagram depicting 'skills' involved in active listening

The concept of a ‘community’ plays great importance in 7 Cups of Tea; an idea I have mixed feelings about. While it provides an excellent basis for people facing similar issues to discuss their problems in a (perceivably) safe environment, it seems to suffer from the issues any other internet-based community does. A recent warning was posted about ‘sexting’ and ‘flirtatious behaviour’ between members; group conversations (intended as a member haven) have occasionally seemed quite cliquey at the few glances I’ve had. However, it is important to note that this is all the while intermingled with members behaving supportively towards others, with threads made in recognition of the achievements listeners and their colleagues have made.

So to the average reader who, by this point, has likely accepted the validity of the blog title ‘he goes on a bit’: I’ll start to wrap it up. You may feel as though this article has served as somewhat of an advertisement for 7 Cups of Tea, and in many ways it absolutely has. That’s why I intend to shamelessly place my referral link for interested listeners to signup (referrals allow advancement through site ranks, not that I have the faintest idea how this benefits me) as well as a link for those who may find chatting to others helpful. In closing, however, I’d like to state that this is not the singular purpose of this article. Instead, I’d like to personally state how important I feel these services will be; including new and as of yet unheard of support systems. In times of modernity, a great strain is placed on our minds. I think it is important going forward that instead of looking into ways technology is damaging us, we should look into ways that it can help us to become better and clearer minded people.

-Josh

(References: Mentalhealth, Itsgoodtotalk, Childline)