Crisis Counseling and its impact on the Survivors of the London Bombing - Research Paper Example

 Crisis Counseling and its impact on the survivors of London Bombing in 2005 What Are the Benefits/drawbacks of immediate crisis counseling for survivors of disasters? Abstract: With the increasing instances of man made and natural disasters followed by a short term crisis, crisis counselling has become a popular concept. Crisis counseling is not time-consuming and generally this counseling takes nearly one to three months. If a trauma or disaster is not resolved in a healthy way, the experience can cause lifelong psychological, communal and medical difficulties. Crisis counseling offers education, assistance and support during the experience of trauma. Crisis Counseling is not an alternate for people who need and are not getting rigorous or lasting psychiatric care (What Is Crisis Counseling?, 2006). This study seeks to analyze and examine the advantages and the limitations of crisis counseling. The main goal of this study is to evaluate the extent to which the counseling ideas are accepted into the structures of the society and to find out how this counseling enables the survivors of the disasters to come out of their traumatic shock. The study will be talking about a particular disaster in the world history. In this case, London Bombing (2005) has been taken into consideration for the present study. Through qualitative analysis and primary survey of a sample of 50 participants the study has attempted to reveal the intricacies, common traits, and unique qualities of crisis counseling. The aims and the objectives of the study: The main aims and objectives of the study are to find out how the people are responding the counseling related to disaster or crisis. Whether the organizations are able to provide necessary counseling treatment to the clients? What kind of treatment the organizations are adopting in order to provide best service to their clients? In the next section, we will be discussing a review of literatures addressing these issues.  Review of Literature: Floyd (2008) talks about the need for crisis counseling. The book “Crisis Counseling: A Guide for Pastors and Professionals” signifies the need for resources for the specialized, rustic, and even counselor. This book provides a biblically based structure for reacting to a crisis incident and the subsequent times of shock, loss, and anguish. It also provides exact instances from Scripture and daily life. It also takes care of focused areas of crisis counseling, incorporating how to work with kids and adolescents in crisis situation and how to build up a crisis response group in a church location. Floyd also offered concluding chapters in his book which will help the readers to sort out the pressure, burnout, and minor trauma that often come with crisis bureau and counseling. Tassey (1998) observes services provided to adult survivors and sufferers' families, children, first response groups and rescue and resurgence workers. The areas which have been discussed in this context also include issues referring to instant and long-standing disaster mental health services, the role of administrative organizations, services to minorities and underserved inhabitants, mental health research subsequent to bombing. Kolski, Avriette and Jongsma (2001) assert about psychologists, psychoanalysts, and other mental health experts who treat clients influenced by traumatic events for example, natural calamities, rape, and physical attack. These professionals need to build up formal treatment arrangements. These plans must know how to requirements of administered care agencies and other third party financiers. Roberts (2005) talks about the recent crisis related events that have been depicted in the media. This has an effect on the lives of the common public, interest in crisis interference, response groups, administration, and stabilization in the economy. He emphasizes on crisis interference services for individuals who are sufferers of natural catastrophes, school-based and home-based aggression, violent offenses, and personal or family disasters. He has applied a uniting model of crisis intervention and made it suitable for frontier crisis workers-clinical psychologists, communal workers, psychiatric-mental health nurses, and graduate learners. They need to know the newest steps and techniques for intervening efficiently with individuals in severe crisis conditions. Roberts has provided a brief summary of present theory, study, and scientific practice in the context to traumatic stress. An integrative bio-psychosocial hypothesis of reaction to trauma has been mentioned in his book. He has discussed state-of-the-art psychosocial and genetic treatments and society-based intervention approaches. One of the principles offered by him is that the crisis counseling agendas should presuppose proactive bearing rather than reactive ones in recognizing individuals in need of services (Roberts, 2005, p. 56). Brailsford (2009) addresses impact of disasters on mental health by reviewing three main crises or disasters that have taken place in the last decade: Hurricane Katrina, Virginia Tech, and September 11. These have provided a structure for culturally and ecologically suitable interferences. Precin (2004) in his book, Surviving 9/11: Impact and Experiences of Occupational Therapy Practitioners has talked about the professional therapy contributors and their clients throughout and straight away after September 11. This book demonstrates the significance of therapeutic treatment for casualties of the assaults, incorporating survivors, firefighters, and observers as well as those individuals who observed the broadcast of the events on television. This book asserts how professional therapy practitioners tackled the consequences using programs and schemes to cure themselves in addition to their clients. Counseling proposals and arrangements for other therapists to use any disaster has also been discussed in this book. Freedy and Hobfoll (1995) provide an integrative bio-psychosocial hypothesis of trauma response. They have offered a structure for the book which takes into consideration the regularity and possible mental health consequences of a wide variety of traumatic incidents- military strain, violent offense, natural and technological calamities, accidental damage, and torment. The book, Traumatic stress: from theory to practice. Plenum series on stress and coping NATO Asi Series attributes high-tech psychosocial and natural healings and society-based intervention policies. Litz (2004) in his book, Early intervention for trauma and traumatic loss portrays the situation of the scientific necessity of early interference in case of disturbance and shocking loss across the lifetime in various circumstances. There are some individuals who would argue about the significance of helping individuals to deal with rigorous life stressors. However, important queries remain about how to identify those individuals who are at risk of unceasing problems. There is also a query regarding the interventions which in fact facilitate healing over a period of time. After taking into account the assessment of the forecasters and the course of the severe stress disorders and shocking grief, the book illustrates a variety of early interference models planned for very young children, older brood, and adults. Litz scrutinizes the experiential literature and advocates proof-based clinical approaches. On the other hand, he outlines a wide-ranging schedule for future study. The book has also mentioned the counseling training undertaken with some explicit populations who required early interference - 9/11 survivors, warfare veterans, crisis services staff, survivors of sexual aggression, and others. Rainer and Brown (2007) sketch a technique of crisis counseling and therapy that slots in narrative, cognitive-behavioral, family structures, and experiential or existential hypotheses. They observed that no particular hypothesis or approach can work in all circumstances. They offered a model based on crisis as an awareness of a condition as an unbearable difficulty that exceeds the individual's resources and managing mechanisms. Their model deals with time constraints and the need to incorporate the crisis to go back to maximum functioning. The time frame taken into account by them was around six to eight weeks. They explained theories, outlined a person in crisis, and sketched the three stages of their model. The three stages of their model include bearing crisis in mind, rearranging the system following crisis, and re-establishment. They also talked about the consequences on children and youngsters, and appliances to three instances- natural disasters, sexual attack, and severe lymphocytic leukemia (Rainer and Brown, 2007). According to the National Health Services (NHS) trust, in-house counseling service is being provided to the victims of the London Bombing. Thus, extra amount of attention is required to be provided to the individuals. Resource Appointments (RAs) service has been introduced by the NHS trust. Even though the names of the survivors of the disasters who were in the waiting list vanished within 3 months, still 25 percent of the remaining survivors who chose the NHS service opted for RA. They did not go for the normal service of eight sessions. By artistically using resources (the NHS trust itself, the clients, the trust’s and external organizations), they had discharged 6 ‘counseling slots’ every month that could be provided to individuals waiting for counseling. Within few days, new system had been introduced. This system was synchronized and the waiting time had been reduced to 5 working days. Although it has been observed that RAs are in various ways realistic and straight-forward, the philosophy behind them has made the way of functioning of the NHS Trust. There has been fundamental change in their approach to the individuals who had sought for help. Their pattern of counseling changed also due to the discussions produced by the clients within the team (Gale and Leach, 2005, p. 12). Methodology: In the final study, we are going to carry out qualitative research. Types of data which will be collected generally involve the opinions and beliefs of the researcher and the subjects who will be studied, through the application of various instruments.  Instruments which will be used to collect the primary data will include questionnaires and sometimes telephones and internet as the mediums of communication. Interview is considered to be very useful and powerful for conducting qualitative researches. During a research, interviews of some selected people are conducted to find out what an individual actually thinks regarding a particular issue. Interviews enable researchers to access the opinion of the people who are being interviewed and in this case it will point out the trend in preferences. Through interviews it is possible to find out certain important things relevant to the studies that cannot be obtained or observed directly. Interviews also help in discovering and exploring the implications of certain things related to people’s behavior, feelings, habits, routines etc. Through interviews researchers get an access to a wide range of experiences, different kinds of circumstances and a range of knowledge that could otherwise not be obtained. During interviews, one may disclose events that took place in the past or in some locations which are inaccessible for the interviewer. We will be checking how the crisis counseling affecting the psychological pattern of the victims of London Bombing in July 2005. The questionnaire will comprise of 10 questions apart from their personal profiles. Fifty individuals among the London Bombing disaster’s survivors are planned to be interviewed for the proposed research. The sample will be chosen through random sampling. Some of the questions will be close-ended and the rest will be open-ended. The basic idea is to find out how the survivors of the London Bombing disaster in July 2005 are responding to the crisis counseling. Whether the survivors are benefited by the counseling procedures? Are they able to open up themselves to the counselors? The interviews will be taken through face-to-face meetings, telephones and e-mail. Ethical Issues: Ethical considerations are an indispensable part of primary research, mainly in order to gain the confidentiality of the participants who would not like to reveal their personal information, for instance their names. They need to be convinced that their identity will be kept hidden. Most of the survivors of the disaster prefer not to reveal their identities and also fear of getting involved with the culprits in some other way. In most cases all these information have been better accessed through emails rather than telephones or face to face meets. I will therefore provide them the options to choose from regarding the medium through which they would like to answer the questions. The idea is to obtain an unbiased answer for each question and whatever talking comes from my side had to be unbiased too, giving a general overview but never trying to orient their minds towards a particular issue. Thus, as ethical implications has been attached to my research, I will provide them with three options- yes, no and unsure in most of the questions. Time Frame: total 7 weeks (est.) week 1 week 2 week3 week 4 week 5 week 6 week 7 Secondary ***** research Interviews ************************************ Draft ****** Final report ******* Estimated cost and where funding has come from: Most of the interviews will be taken via emails according to their comfort level and may be a few will be through face to face interactions. Hence this will be cost effective and the estimated cost will be on approximately around £500. This will include printing of report and questionnaires as well. In this case the research will be via self funding. Dissemination: The survivors of London bombing disasters will be categorized according to age groups and gender. The effect of trauma and counselling may therefore be studied categorically. There will be three age groups categorization and the answers to the same set of questions will be analyzed from their responses. Though all of them might not have opted for counselling, asking them the question might give around 25-30 people who actually opted for career counselling. However this is a mere estimate. The task here is to read different research works of various authors and then try to analyse my findings with respect to those of the authors. The comparative analysis will be done through categorization itself. There might be similarities or differences and these should be compared in order to understand what the new additions are, through the findings. Implications: Interactions with the survivors of the London Bombing disasters will help me have a general understanding of the question raised before beginning the research, the counselling techniques and their impact on the victims. The research has some limitations because generalizing cannot be aptly done base don a single case study. Every disaster has its individual characteristics which vary according to economic, political and social structure of a nation or region. The research will however provide a foundation to explore further such cases of disasters where the survivors might have opted for career counselling. References: 1. Batty, D, July 8, 2005. “Bomb survivors 'need support, not counseling’”. Guardina.co.uk. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2005/jul/08/terrorism.uknews (Accessed on Oct. 28, 2009). 2. Brailsford, P.D., 2009. Crisis and Disaster Counseling: Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina and Other Disasters. SAGE (New Jersey). 3. “Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program Frequently Asked Questions”, n.d. Available at: http://www.dmh.ca.gov/disaster/docs/FAQs.pdf (Accessed on Oct. 28, 2009). 4. Floyd, S, 2008. Crisis Counseling: A Guide for Pastors and Professionals. Kregel Publications (Michigan). 5. Freedy, J.R, Hobfoll, S.E, 1995. Traumatic stress: from theory to practice. Plenum series on stress and coping NATO Asi Series. Springer (New York). 6. Gale, N, Leach, G, 2005. “Resource appointments”. London Bombings. NHS trust supporting staff. Available at: http://www.bacpworkplace.org.uk/journal_pdf/acw_autumn05_gale.pdf. (Accessed on Oct. 28, 2009). 7. Kolski, T.D., Avriette, M, Jongsma, A.E., 2001. The Crisis Counseling and Traumatic Events Treatment Planner. Volume 87 of Practice planners Psychotherapy Treatment Planners Series. John Wiley and Sons (New Jersey). 8. Litz, B.T, 2004. Early intervention for trauma and traumatic loss. Guilford Press (New York). 9. Precin, P, 2004. Surviving 9/11: impact and experiences of occupational therapy practitioners. Routledge (London). 10. Rainer, J.P., Brown, F.F., Oct. 2007. Crisis counseling and therapy. Taylor & Francis (London). 11. Roberts, A.R, 2005. Crisis intervention handbook: assessment, treatment, and research. Oxford University Press (Oxford). 12. Tassey, J.R, 1998. Final Report: American Psychological Association Task Force on the Mental Health Response to the Oklahoma City Bombing. DIANE Publishing (Pennsylvania). 13. “What Is Crisis Counseling?” Oct 10, 2006. Available at: http://www.crisiscounseling.org/Handouts/WhatIsCrisisCounseling.htm (Accessed on Oct. 28, 2009). Appendix: Questionnaire on Crisis Counseling: 1. Name: 2. Age: 3. Sex: 􀁔 Male 􀁔 Female 4. Occupation: 􀁔 Service 􀁔 Businessmen 􀁔 Student 􀁔 Not employed. 5. Do you have opted for any kind of counseling from the charitable trust or any other organization? 􀁔 Yes 􀁔 No 􀁔 No Comments 6. Have any charitable trust approached you for providing any kind of counseling? 􀁔 Yes 􀁔 No 􀁔 No Comments 7. Do you have received any kind of benefit by going through the counseling procure? 􀁔 Yes 􀁔 No 􀁔 Not Sure 8. What kind of changes have you noticed in yourself after undergoing the treatment procedure through counseling? (Please state clearly). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9. Have you been able to overcome the shock which you have experienced? 􀁔 Yes 􀁔 No 􀁔 Not Sure 10. Do you think that the organizations are providing fair and adequate counseling to the individuals? 􀁔 Yes 􀁔 No 􀁔 Not Sure 11. How would you rate the counseling treatment provided by the organizations? 􀁔 Highly beneficial 􀁔 Beneficial 􀁔 Moderately beneficial 􀁔 Less beneficial 􀁔 Not at all Beneficial 12. Do you have any kind of past experience in psychotherapy or counseling? 􀁔 Yes 􀁔 No 􀁔 Not Sure 13. If “Yes”, then what kind of experience do you have gone through in terms of counseling in the past? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 14. Have you ever been diagnosed with a mental ill health? 􀁔 Yes 􀁔 No 15. What kind of treatment do expect from the organizations dealing with the counseling? 􀁔 To provide best service in terms of resource appointments (RA) 􀁔 To have crisis counseling equivalent to family-based therapy 􀁔 To counsel in such a manner so that one does not have to undergo any kind of psychological treatment anymore Read More