Interview a human services or medical professional who (at least occasionally) provides crisis intervention services to clients. Write up a description of the professional’s practices and compare them to the assessment and intervention procedures outlined in this chapter. Conclude the assignment by noting whether there is anything relevant to crisis intervention a) that the professional could add to his or her practices, or b) that should be included in this book chapter.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The social worker should report on the interviewee’s responses regarding:

• The kinds of crises clients experience
• The crisis stage clients are most often experiencing when they seek help
• The meaning of the hazardous event to the client
• The impact, both positive and negative, of cultural factors on the client’s perception of the crisis
• The full range of precipitating factors for the crisis
• How vulnerable the client appears to negative effects of the situation
• The client’s potential and actual support systems

Which of the following interventions the social worker appears to provide:

• Availability
• Communication of caring, confidence, and competence to the client
• Offering a plan for help and social support that includes choices for the client
• Obtaining a commitment to the plan
• The inclusion of an anti-suicide agreement
• Following up with the client and referral sources
• Providing reassurance about the availability of help and encouraging the client to persist through the crisis
• Making social support arrangements by mobilizing supportive people in the natural environment.
• Engaging in environmental work to secure necessary material supports for the client
• Engaging in advocacy activities with other systems
• Helping the client understand the nature of the precipitating events, so that he or she can plan ahead to control or avoid them.
• Helping the client connect the experience of current stress with patterns of past functioning, so that he or she can initiate new behavioral patterns
• Initiating improved modes of coping through problem solving, stress management training, social skills training, or other interventions.
• Reviewing what the client has learned about coping skills and social supports