Crisis Intervention

1.    What ethical standards pertain to crisis prevention and intervention? (List the letter, number, and brief titles only).

'''The 2014 Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) have included several standards that pertain to crisis prevention and intervention (McGlothlin, 2014). They include:'''

'''      Standard II.G1.c – Counselors’ roles and responsibilities as members of an interdisciplinary emergency management response team during a local, regional, or national crisis, disaster or other trauma causing event;'''

'''      Standard II.G.3.c – Effects of crisis, disasters, and other trauma-causing events on persons of all ages; '''

'''      Standard II.G.5.g – Crisis prevention and suicide prevention models, including the use of psychological first aid strategies. '''

2.    What are the roles and responsibilities of counselors with regard to crisis prevention and intervention? (list at least five)

'''Castellana and Plionis (2006) suggested that there are five components that should be used in response to crisis prevention and intervention. These are:'''

'''A. Assessing strengths – this involves not only identifying the problems, but also determining what human and material resources are available. '''

'''B. Restoring predisaster functioning – An attempt by the counselor to help the clients restore their lives to the predisaster level in order to reduce the chaos of the experience.'''

'''C. Accepting the face value – This involves helping the clients to reorganize their lives to accommodate the impact of the disaster. '''

'''D. Providing validation – Offering unconditional positive regard, acceptance, and validation.'''

'''E. Offering a psycho educational focus – providing direction related to normal and abnormal reactions to the impact of the trauma on both the individual and the group levels. '''

 

3.    What specific beliefs and attitudes, understandings, skills, and ethical concerns should be addressed during professional preparation to provide crisis prevention and intervention services? (1 page)

The frequency of serious client crises confronting human service professionals has escalated to such proportions that crises have been referred to as an “occupational hazard” in the professional literature ('''McAdams & Keener, 2008). Nearly a third of all practicing mental health counselors can expect to encounter the suicide of a client at some point in their careers; nearly two thirds should anticipate a client’s suicide attempt (Schwartz & Rogers, 2004). Violent behavior in school-age children has more than doubled in the past 20 years, and the violent acts they commit have become significantly more dangerous (McAdams, 2002; McAdams & Lambe, 2003). National and state standards for professional counseling address the need for attention to crisis preparation and appropriate response; however, they do not specify the type or level of attention necessary to minimize the risk of crises and maximize the effectiveness of crisis intervention and the potential for full post-crisis recovery among all those affected. '''

'''      Counselors simply cannot predict with any degree of certainty that a client crisis is about to unfold (Remley, 2004). Without accurate predictors of crises, all counselors should take general steps to reduce the chances of being blindsided by them. The steps include (a) acquiring accurate information about crisis epidemiology, etiology, and impact; (b) assessing risk factors associated with crisis conditions; (c) becoming informed and practiced in crisis response procedure; and (d) being clear about their own and their settings philosophies regarding why crises occur and who is responsible for dealing with them. Those with informed understanding of conditions that predispose for and maintain various crises are more likely to be attuned to pending crises and accurate in diffusing developing crisis dynamics. Awareness of the aforementioned physical, ethical, legal, and psychological liabilities associated with inadequate crisis response provides impetus for counselors to independently pursue greater competency in crisis handling before it is needed. In all counseling settings, instruction should be provided that informs counselors about the real potential for crises, their defining characteristics, their potential impact on all survivors, and the need for personal and professional crisis recovery (Kinzel & Nanson, 2000). '''

'''      Unfortunately, no training program in crisis response can effectively prepare counselors for the multitude of different crises that may await them in practice ((McAdams & Keener, 2008). Similarly, no national or state standards for counselor certification can (or should be expected to) adequately define specific counselor responses to client crises in every context. However, there are frameworks that bridge the gap between regulatory requirements for counselor proficiency in crisis response and plan for the kind of preparation they need to fully satisfy those requirements. It reduces counselors’ risk of being surprised, ineffective, or harmed in a client crisis by informing them comprehensively of the considerations necessary for effective response in all crisis situations, considerations that they can then apply to the development of context-specific crisis response perspectives and protocols. '''

4.   Reflect on your learning experience related to crisis prevention and intervention. Identity areas for personal development and/or interest. (1 page)

'''     As I complete this course, I feel that the area that I would like to experience some growth in is threat assessments. Threat assessment has applications for a multitude of workplace and other situations. It is primarily used for: difficult terminations, threatening or concerning employees (current or former), outside relationships that impact the workplace (former/current husbands/boyfriends who are threatening or the relationship is extremely volatile with abuse already present or the couple is going through a separation/divorce),  domestic violence issues, stalking, customer/client threats or concerning behavior,  inappropriate communication, (letters, emails, etc.), or school violence (educational facilities). Although threat assessment got its start in southern California, mainly around'''

'''Los Angeles, largely because of the stalking of celebrities, and took hold when practitioners realized that it had many other applications. It wasn’t long before there was enlightenment that it could be utilized for other stalking cases, domestic violence cases and, of course, workplace violence issues of all sorts.'''

'''                  Threat assessment involves evaluating and managing the threat (or threatening situation) involves developing a plan of action that moves the instigator (the perpetrator) away from regarding violence as an option. The mission of a threat assessment professional is to analyze the level of the threat, or the risk, in that particular situation and then, along with others involved in the situation, to manage the case so that a tragic result does not occur. Threat assessment practitioners acquire a multitude of clues, which can often be easily acquired once we know what to look for, that are needed to complete a comprehensive threat assessment of the current situation. Threat assessment professionals can put to use various tools that will assist them in their process. The overarching goal is to prevent a violent outcome not merely predict one.'''

References

'''Castellana, C., & Plionis, E. (2006). Comparative analysis of three crisis prevention models applied to law enforcement first responders during 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.'' Brief Treatment and Crisis Interventions, 6, 326-336.'

'''Kinzel, A., & Nanson, J. (2000). Education and de-briefing: Strategies for preventing crises in crisis-line volunteers. Crisis: The ''Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, 21, 126–134.'

'''McAdams, C. R. (2002). Trends in the occurrence of reactive and proactive aggression among children and adolescents: Implications for preparation and practice in child and youth care. Child & Youth Care Forum, 31, 89–109.'''

'''McAdams, C. R., & Lambe, G. (2003). The changing face of youth aggression in schools: Its impact and implications for school counselors. Preventing School Failure, 47, 122–130.'''

'''McAdams, C. R., & Keener, H. J. (2008). Preparation, action, recovery: A conceptual framework for counselors preparation and response in client crisis. Journal of Counseling and Development, 86, 388- 398.'''

'''McGlothlin, J. (2014) Emergency preparedness and response in the community and workplace. In L. R. Jackson-Cherry and B. T. Erford (Eds.), ''Crisis assessment, intervention, and prevention'' (2nd ed., pp. 246 -265). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. '''

'''Remley, T. P. (2004). Suicide and the law. In D. Capuzzi (Ed.), ''Suicide across the life span: Implications for counselors ''(pp. 185–208). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.'''

'''Schwartz, R., & Rogers, J. (2004). Suicide assessment and evaluation strategies: A primer for counseling psychologists. Counseling Psychology Quarterly, 17, 89–97.'''