Table 6. Thematic analysis of users’ open-ended survey responses about The Mix’s mental health helpline (N=731).

Theme	Theme definition	Subtheme	Subtheme definition	Frequency of mentions
Types of support (n=417)	Ways in which users felt helped (if they did) by the service.	Felt heard Someone to talk to Better understanding of emotions and circumstances Empowerment and direction Timely support	Felt listened to and supported without judgment Felt less lonely or benefitted from talking through their issues with someone Made sense of their emotions, or gained new perspective regarding their situation Felt more confident, optimistic, and clear on how to seek help or move forward from their situation Acute and timely support, practically (eg, emergency services), or emotionally (eg, calming down)	174 85 30 62 66
Service delivery (n=308)	Sentiments regarding the effectiveness of helpline delivery and execution by volunteers.	Delivery and tone Conversational elements Rushing and rejection Responsiveness	Pace, tone, and phrases used by volunteers during conversation with users Effectiveness of questions asked by volunteers and conversational practices (eg, rephrasing and repeating) Sentiments of feeling pushed away, unheard, misunderstood, or excluded How quickly, or whether, users received responses from volunteers (wait times)	73 38 99 98
Service protocol (n=105)	Sentiments regarding service protocol and standard practice by which the helpline is run.	Lack of personal input and concrete support Alternative support Talk times	Lack of personal opinions from volunteers and practical advice regarding solutions or action plans Preference for longer-term follow-up support or face-to-face support Preference for longer talk times and less restriction on chat duration	66 23 16
Service technicalities (n=80)	Sentiments regarding technical and administrative aspects of the service, including opening hours, IT matters, and advertisement.	Opening hours Platform functionality Advertising	Preference for keeping the helpline open for extended periods of time Ensuring platforms are running without technical issues, and suggestions for improving platform functionality Extending advertising of the service to wider audiences, and providing better/clearer information on how the service works	18 47 15