Cultural factors may affect the elderly's use of and beliefs about counseling and psychotherapy. Elderly persons tend to make fewer telephone calls than do younger persons, perhaps believing the telephone should be used only with close friends. This may prevent the elderly from using telephone counseling services. Suicide has occurred in the elderly at a rate triple that of the general population. A crisis telephone counseling line found 25 percent of callers had suicide related problems, 4 percent of whom were over age 60. An information and referral service in the same area found 10 to 12 percent of its calls were from persons age 60 and over. Calls indicate that the elderly have multiple basic needs in the areas of income, housing, health, transportation, in-home support, effects of isolation, and advocacy. It is vexing elderly persons do not use the services of the crisis line, although the elderly do use the information and referral line. Elderly clients of the crisis center are not ambivalent about suicide, trust their own decisions, want to control their manner of death, have more health problems than do younger clients, do not wish to be a burden to others, and do not wish to talk about suicide. Crisis center and information and referral services should work together to help the elderly, updating skills needed in suicide prevention. Classes on problem solving and exploring feelings for the community's elderly should be offered. (ABL)