To address immediate concerns and issues in a crisis, you will need a range of skills in communicating effectively with your client to gather information, develop strategies and balance working collaboratively with providing direction so that you can deal with immediate dangers and issues effectively within legal and ethical requirements.
Let's explore:
- how to identify imminent crisis situations, including recognising and responding to signs that there are safety issues
- how to ask directly about safety issues and take immediate action
- how to listen empathetically to details of the situation
- how to affirm and strengthen links to safety and living
- how to use enabling thoughts and behaviours to provide structure for dealing with the immediate crisis
- how to balance collaboration and direction to agree on actions to reduce the immediate risk of harm
- how to confirm that actions are legal, ethical and consistent with organisation policy and duty of care.
This module stated that keeping everyone safe is a primary concern when you undertake a crisis intervention. ‘Everyone’ includes your client, any others involved in the situation (such as the client’s children or other family members) and of course, yourself and any colleagues who are present.
This means identifying who is at risk, what the risks might be and how serious the risks are. This process can include the following steps (they are not always in this order):
- Observe the situation
- Ask direct questions such as ‘Tell me what is happening,’ ‘Do you feel safe/unsafe? Why?’ ‘What would you like to do about this?’ ‘How can I/we help?’
- If necessary, take immediate action to provide first aid supports or to remove people from danger
- Use active listening skills to collect information and show empathy
- Suggest strategies for dealing with the immediate issues and help the person to ‘reframe’ their perception of the situation by identifying and expressing more positive thoughts
- Assess the person’s current capacity for making decisions and coping with the situation
- It is good practice to use a collaborative approach as far as possible, but if necessary, provide the person with some direction about what to do. This can be necessary while the person is overwhelmed and not functioning as they would normally
- Reach an agreement with the person about what to do in response to immediate risks to themselves and others, such as calling emergency services
- Check and follow your organisation’s policies and procedures in relation to duty of care
Completing this learning activity will extend your knowledge and understanding of crisis intervention techniques, principles and practices.
Use online and other sources to research, collect and summarise information about crisis intervention techniques.
The list of resources below provides a useful starting point.
Read
- Intervention techniques, Virtual Knowledge Centre to End Violence Against Women and Girls, 2012
- Crisis intervention: an opportunity for change, 1995
- Brief interventions in youth mental health toolkit, Orygen, 2016
- Developing a plan to help manage a crisis, Spectrum Personality Disorder Service, not dated
- Suicide and crisis care, Borderline in the ACT, 2017
In summary, this topic has equipped you with a diverse set of skills essential for addressing immediate concerns and issues in a crisis. You have delved into effective communication strategies to gather information, develop strategies, and strike a balance between collaboration and providing direction. Emphasis has been placed on identifying imminent crisis situations, recognizing signs of safety issues, and taking immediate action. Additionally, you have explored empathetic listening techniques, affirming and strengthening links to safety, and using enabling thoughts and behaviors to structure crisis interventions. Importantly, you've learned to navigate the delicate balance between collaboration and direction, ensuring agreement on actions to reduce immediate risks while confirming their legality, ethicality, and consistency with organizational policies and duty of care. This comprehensive exploration enhances your preparedness to address crises within the bounds of legal and ethical requirements.
