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Crisis Intervention
Crisis Intervention can be defined as emergency psychological care aimed to assist individuals in returning to normal levels of functioning and to prevent or alleviate potential negative psychological trauma. Crisis can be defined as one’s perception or experiencing of an event or situation as an intolerable difficulty that exceeds the person’s current resources and coping mechanisms. The priority of crisis intervention/counseling is to increase stabilization. Crisis interventions occur at the spur of the moment and in a variety of settings, as trauma can arise instantaneously. Crisis counselors must keep in mind that crises are temporary, no longer than a month, although the effects may become long-lasting.

Types of Crises
Crises can occur on a personal or societal level. Personal Trauma is defined as an individual’s experience of a situation or event in which he/she perceives to have exhausted his/her coping skill, self-esteem, social support, and power. These can be situations where a person is making suicidal threats, experiencing threat, witnessing homicide or suicide, or experiencing personal loss. While a person is experiencing a crisis on the individual level it is important for counselors to primarily assess safety. Counselors are encouraged to ask questions pertaining to social supports and networks, as well as give referrals for long term care.

Societal or mass trauma can occur in a number of settings and typically affect a large group or society. These are instances such as school shootings, terrorist attacks, and natural disaster. A counselor’s primary concern when call to these types of crises is to assess people’s awareness of resources. Individuals experiencing trauma in large scales need to be aware of shelters that offer food and water; places that met their basic necessities for survival.

Typical Responses to Crisis
Counselors are encouraged to be aware of the typical responses of those who have experienced a crisis or currently struggling with the trauma. On the cognitive level they may blame themselves or others for the trauma. Often times the person appears disoriented, becomes hypersensitive or confused, has poor concentration, uncertainty, and poor troubleshooting. Physical responses to trauma include: increased heart rate, tremors, dizziness, weakness, chills, headaches, vomiting, shock, fainting, sweating, and fatigue. Some emotional responses the person may experiences consist of apathy, depression, irritability, anxiety, panic, helplessness, hopelessness, anger, fear, guilt, and denial. When assessing behavior some typical responses to crisis are difficulty eating and/or sleeping, conflicts with others, withdrawal from social situations, and lack of interest in social activities.