Crisis Intervention - Assignment Example

Crisis Intervention Crisis intervention in traumatic incidents Introduction A crisis is an acute emotional reaction to powerful stimulus that leads to emotional disturbance, failure of coping mechanisms and impairment of the individual social, psychological and physical abilities (James & Gilliland, 2012). Traumatic incidents have negative emotional, physical and psychological effect on an individual and thus crisis intervention should offer immediate, intensive, pragmatic and innovative support to individuals who have experienced a traumatic incident or event (James & Gilliland, 2012).

Crisis intervention aims at lowering the adverse effects of the traumatic incident, facilitating the normal coping and recovery processes and restoring the adaptive function. Crisis intervention strategies and programs must be capable of addressing the emotional reactions such as anxiety, shame, grief, horror, and difficulties in falling asleep (Cavaiola & Colford, 2010). Traumatic incidents may lead to numbness and feelings of isolation due to sense of despair and hopelessness. Critical traumatic incidents may lead to severe psychological disorders such as drug and alcohol abuse, acute stress disorder, panic attacks and post traumatic stress disorders (Cavaiola & Colford, 2010).

The initial step will involve conducting a biopsychological and crisis assessment that will determine the suicide risk and ability of the client to cope with the crisis. The psychologist must establish rapport and psychological contact through developing cordial therapeutic relationship in order to understand the dimensions of the crisis and encourage exploration of emotions through listening and responding to the client (Cavaiola & Colford, 2010). An individual should cope with traumatic incidents through recognizing their own feeling, seeking help and support from friends and family members, setting realistic goals to tackle the challenges, and engaging in physical activities in order to relax.

The psychological counselors view the client holistically through listening and empathizing with the client and avoiding being judgmental (James & Gilliland, (2012). The psychologist must recognize and respect the culture and beliefs of the client in preparing the crisis intervention strategy. The intervention program should consider the magnitude of the traumatic event, the type of traumatic event, the setting, the cause of traumatic incident, the personality and cultural background of the victim (James & Gilliland, 2012).

Crisis intervention requires a comprehensive, integrated, immediate and systematic approach that will manage traumatic incident stress in order to ensure the social, physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing of the individual. References:Cavaiola, A & Colford, J.E. (2010). Crisis Intervention Case Book. New York: Cengage Learning.James, R & Gilliland, B. (2012). Crisis Intervention Strategies. New York: Cengage Learning.