Responsibilities of National Crisis Response Teams, Directions of Crisis Intervention - Research Paper Example

? Trauma Terrorist Events Trauma specifically associated with a terrorist event. Terrorism is one of the sources of traumatic events that can produce a serious of psychological disorder in people all around the world. The consequences of major disasters as a result of terrorism activities like, September 9/11 have exposed people to major mental threats. Thus, psychopathology risk has greatly increased by the attacks of terrorism in twenty- first century. In USA and Europe, major terrorist attacks and threats have produced major concerns for health professionals and clinicians. In literature, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been the major focus of research studies with several disorders attached to the patient due to the terrorism of September 9/11 (Neria et al., 2008). All the facts of terrorism act as a stressor for the human mind. These events not only affect the people on a personal level, but they also influence on social level too. Following a terrorist event, people feel that they have no control over their lives. There is lack of predictability which leads to uncertainty. Most of the people feel as if they are about to be attacked and are unable to protect themselves. They lose confidence in the state authorities and feel unsafe inside their own homes. Many terrorism survivors think that they are able to block out the memories of the event and continue with their lives as before. These people are prone to drug, medication or alcohol abuse. People resort to such intoxications because they think it helps them curb the feeling of helplessness and fear (Neria et al 2008). Most of the terrorist attacks are random, and defenseless people are targeted. Following any such event, people find ways to cope with stress and trauma. One common result of a terrorist activity is Xenophobia – the fear of strangers. Terrorist events lead to increased amount of fear and distrust among individuals, which is further fueled by the cultural diversity within any population. People have been known to isolate themselves following a terrorist attack because they are afraid of leaving the house. As a result, these people are unable to maintain their normal daily routines and the recurring thoughts of the incident coupled with isolation can eventually lead to depression (Fields & Margolin, 2001). New Vision and directions of Crisis Intervention Crisis intervention is based on the methods and techniques used to overcome trauma and post disaster effects in short term. This intervention is designed to facilitate the physical, emotional, and psychological impact on individuals after a major crisis. The new visions and directions of crisis intervention in twenty first century are adapted to the eco-systemic crisis like that of African epidemic of AIDS or bird flu, Asian SARS attacks, or American September 9/11 disasters. Crisis intervention techniques not only aim to restore the physical health of the victims, but also help to stabilize their mental health. For psychologists it is very important to think creatively so that they are better able to help victims visualize various possibilities. In the past decade, worldwide crisis have become very common and frequent. Even if people are physically away from the location of the crisis, they are aware of it because of the live coverage of media. One of the intervention techniques, which is given special attention is the non-violent crisis intervention. The victims and witnesses of a crisis often become irrational and irritable. This behavior is very prominent in kids and teenagers. It is very important for the psychologist/therapist to be equipped with the knowledge of how to react if the intervention turns violent, all the while focusing on the client. For this method, it is important for the therapist to be assertive, but remain calm and empathetic towards the client, so that the client is at ease (Dattilio & Freeman, 2012). Roles & Responsibilities of National Crisis Response Teams Crisis response teams (CRT) are formed in every state of America with the objective of evaluating, analyzing and thus, advising the team representatives and their families on how to deal with traumatic life events. These teams have been providing resources to the locals for situations which cannot be dealt by other means. The Montana National Guard crisis response team recognizes it as their duty to respond to incidents which involves health, safety or security needs of their community (MT National Guard, 2008). The NOVA community CRT members have been trained to respond to any trauma inducing event in the community. The members of the NOVA CRT, when deployed to any location, are supposed to assist the local caregivers or agencies and provide them with assistance and consultation. The NOVA team members are not supposed to directly convene group counseling sessions (NOVA, 1998). Crisis response teams are equipped with individuals who have been trained in crisis intervention strategies. Irrespective of the state the CRT is operating in, the roles and responsibilities of all the CRTs is nearly the same. The main responsibility of a CRT is to reduce the amount of panic which prevails in the community and help the people overcome their fears. It is the team’s responsibility to provide consultation to the individuals or groups affected by the crisis and help them overcome it (Miller & Health, 2004). Ecosystematic Approach to Crisis Intervention Every human reacts differently to a crisis irrespective of their ethnicity, gender, religion or profession. Most of the researches done on crisis effects and interventions are either focused on criminals or students. Every individual is connected to others and they are all interwoven into this ecosystem. Thus, it is important for the crisis management system to be interdisciplinary and encompass a broad range of people. Terrorist events create panic and everything that follows such an event is very hap hazardous. In such situations, it is very important for the interventions to be timely. When a crisis like 9/11 occurs, it is important for the organizations to act quickly. All the humans view and react differently to the disasters. Thus, extracting meaning out of such disasters require professional attentions and this aspect should not be ignored. The crisis should be addressed not only on a personal level but also on a national level. Depending upon the spread of the crises, intervention should be targeted towards individuals, societies, communities and even nations in some cases. The ecological approach to interventions includes four levels. The microsystem is the level where the focal point are affected individuals and their families. Next is the mesosystem, which aims to create links between the affected people and others, living in the same locality? The ecosystem links the affected people and institutions which are helpful and contribute to their well being. Last is the macrosystem which encompasses how lifestyles, resources, religious and cultural beliefs and the value system affect each other. The main aim of a crisis intervention is to stabilize the situation following the crisis and to connect people to each other and to support organizations. While providing therapy to the affected people, therapists aim to find out which of their clients’ thoughts are dysfunctional and how can they be altered so that the clients can resume with their life. It is important to study the individuals with regard to the above mentioned ecosystem perspectives so that it can be decided which services should be provided to each individual (James et al, 2012). References: Neria Y, Nandi A, Galea S. (2008), Post-traumatic stress disorder following disasters: A systematic review, Psychological Medicine 38:467-480. Dattilio, F. & Freeman, A. (2012). Cognitive-Behavioral Strategies in Crisis Intervention. Guilford Press, 2012. Fields, R.M. & Margolin, J. (2001). Managing Traumatic Stress: Coping with Terrorism. American Psychology Association. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/terrorism.aspx MT National Guard. (2008). Montana National Guard Crisis Response Team: Guidelines and Procedure Manual. Retrieved from http://www.montanaguard.com/MTYRPwebsitelocalRF/PDFs/State/Crisis%20Response%20Team%20Guide.pdf NOVA. (1998). Coordinating a Crisis Response Team. National Organization for Victim Assistance, Washington, D.C. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/ovc_archives/reports/crt/chap12.htm Miller, D.P. & Health, R.L. (2004). Responding to Crisis: A Rhetorical Approach to Crisis Communication. Routeledge, 2004 James, R.K. et al. (2012). Crisis Intervention Strategies. Cengage Learning, 2012. Read More