This study developed an efficiently administrable recovery-oriented early support program for adolescents and young adults in the early stage of mental health problems. We performed a literature review of 21 articles to determine the factors that facilitate recovery. In addition, we interviewed 14 individuals who practiced early intervention for psychiatric disorders to integrate effective involvement in the program prototype. Combining these results and consensual qualitative research outcomes, we created the program based on a maximum of five individual sessions (30 minutes per session), aiming to foster a sense of security and promote personal agency. In future research, we will examine the program’s efficiency, simplicity, and effectiveness.

A questionnaire survey was conducted with 19 therapists conducting telephone counseling under Employee Assistance Programs. The questionnaire included items related to their face-to-face and telephone counseling theory and clinical practice. Results suggested that therapists conducting face-to-face counseling based on humanistic psychology and/or brief therapy used these theories during telephone counseling. Clinical techniques consisting of 11 subcategories were identified in face-to-face counseling (visual information and empathic understanding, among others), and ten subcategories were identified in telephone counseling (auditory information and suggestion for solutions, among others) using qualitative methods. Moreover, differences in the two types of counseling by virtue of their treatment structures changed therapists’ behaviors. Furthermore, therapists with more telephone counseling experience focused more on their voices than therapists who did not have a lot of experience. It was found that “joining in voice” was essential for telephone counseling.