Types of Crisis Intervention

Crisis intervention offers immediate help to people who may be going through a time of crisis or a mentally and emotionally difficult time. The individual may seem distraught, unable to cope, may have thoughts of suicide or may have suffered a loss. Crisis intervention techniques allow those close to the person to offer support.

Psychosocial Assessment

• The team assesses the situation as it is currently, and looks for signs that may indicate how serious the crisis is. The individual may appear quiet, sad, depressed or withdrawn; he may have a scruffy appearance, indicating an inability to care for himself; and he may appear mentally unstable. The team can discuss with the individual's feeling about the crisis and help him reflect on what happened.

Critical Incident Stress Debriefing

• This type of intervention is usually offered in the aftermath of a catastrophe, such as earthquakes. Individuals may be traumatized by the loss of friends and family. The debriefing takes place in a group with other survivors, where they can describe their experience with the event, and their own personal feelings. They can react, cry, shout and discuss their emotions with others experiencing the same thing, to help them defuse the impact of the event.

Previous Factors

• The crisis may have brought up hidden feelings or memories of another stressful or traumatic time, which could be adding to the current crisis situation and making it harder to cope. The individual can talk about past events, and discuss them if they are affecting the present in any way.

Emotional Clarification

• Individuals may feel guilty about their emotions, or try and suppress them so they can appear strong to others. The team can explain the grieving process and the expected emotions to the individual, and help her to understand that she can be sad, or angry of afraid because it is normal.

Coping Strategies

• A team can't promise that the individual will never experience the same event again, but they can offer coping strategies for next time they face a crisis. The individual is encouraged to find someone to talk to--whether that be a friend, a priest, or a counselor--to discuss his feelings and problems. They can suggest that he plan ahead for crisis situations, such as stocking up on bottled water, so he can feel more in control (though he must ultimately acknowledge that he can never completely control the environment around him).