Crisis Defusing

A Biblical
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Bukal Life Care 2020

II Corinthians 1:4
 “He (God) comforts us in all our affliction,
so that we may be able to comfort those
who are in any kind of affliction, through
the comfort we ourselves receive from
God”
 God comforts us in our suffering and out of
that comfort we can comfort others.
So today, let's consider two examples
from the Bible

 The first is a “bad example”

 The second is a “good example”
 We can learn from both
 “Bad Example”: Job's Friends
 Job suffered devastating trauma
– Loss of property & servants
– Loss of family members
– Loss of health
 Job's friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar came
“to offer sympathy and comfort to him.” (Job
2:11)
Job's Friends: A Good Start
 Step One. Demonstrated Empathy--
weeping, tearing robes, throwing dust on their
heads (culturally appropriate mourning)
 Step Two. Quietly sat with Job for 7 days
(Ministry of Presence and Ministry of
Silence)
Job's Friends: Problems Start
 Step Three. Job's friends listened to his
complaints and confusion.
 Step Four. Job's friends stop listening and
started talking

This is where things go bad. What were some of

things they did that were bad?
Five Bad Things
 They blamed Job for his problems, even though
they did not really know why bad things were
happening. (Form of victim blaming)
 They defended God, even though God doesn't
really need defending. (In fact, God doesn't really
defend Himself in the book of Job.)
 They argued with Job, making things worse.
 They implied that the three of them were bettter
than Job, since they were not suffering.
 They claimed that they knew how to “fix” things.
But they did not know how to fix things.
God's response to Job's Friends
Speaking to Eliphaz, God said, “I am angry with you,
and your two friends, for you have not spoken the
truth about Me, as My servant Job has. …. go to My
servant Job, and offer a burnt offering for
yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you. I
will surely accept his prayer and not deal with you as
your folly deserves.”

To provide crisis care wrongly or poorly is actually a

sin.
Case 2: God and Elijah, I Kings 19
 Elijah was going through a crisis.
– Physically worn out.
– Emotionally fearful.
– Socially disconnected.
– Spiritually drained. (wasted life)
 Today we might say that Elijah is suffering from
burnout, or perhaps post-traumatic stress.
So what were the steps here?
 Step 1. Safety and Security. Elijah needed
physical safety (away from the Northern Kingdom),
Emotional security (feeling safe in a cave far from
his enemies), and Spiritual refuge (at Mount
Horeb/Sinai--- the mountain of God).
 God does not interfere with this except when Elijah
was so depressed that he appeared to want to die. At
that point God sent an angel to give him food, drink,
rest, and encouragement to finish the journey.
<Note: God did not rush the intervention.>
So what were the steps here?
 Step 2. Ventilation. God asks Elijah what he is
doing on Mount Horeb. Elijah ventilates (expresses
his story and feelings).
 Elijah says that he has been a faithful servant of God
but he feels like a failure, sees himself as alone, and
hunted by the enemy.
 God listens without Judging, Arguing, or Being
Defensive.
 God goes through this process with Elijah twice.
So what were the steps here?
 Step 3. Preparation. God moves Elijah away from
a stressful past towards a “New Normal.”
 God appears to agree, in part, with Elijah's
complaint. Elijah needs to rest, and he needs help.
 Only at the end does God tell Elijah that one of his
beliefs is faulty--- Elijah is NOT a failure.
 Elijah's new normal--- Smaller tasks, not alone, and
not useless.
Some Lessons. Three Stages
 1. Safety and Security. Help the survivor get to a
place of being safe and secure--- physical safety
with basic needs met. Emotional safety and
information needed.
 2. Ventilation and Validation. Help the survivor
express their feelings/hurts and gain a sense of what
they have been going through. This should be done
non-judmentally, and without defensiveness or
argument. It is THEIR STORY. Help them
understand that what they are feeling is a normal
response to abnormal circumstances.
Some Lessons. Three Stages
 3. Prediction and Preparation to reorganize their
lives. Things have changed and there is no going
back. But there is hope for a “new normal” with
different joys and new purposes.
 One can help the survivor start taking BABY
STEPS towards moving to some semblance of
order.
Thou Shalts
 Give the gift of TIME
 Actively listen---- demonstrating interest,
focusing your attention on them, trying to
understand what they are sharing.
 Empathize (try to understand cognitively
and emotionally what it would be like to
be in their situation).
 Help them understand that their topsy-
turvy feelings are normal under the
circumstances.
 Become comfortable with uncomfortable
emotions.
Thou Shalt Nots
 Don't pretend to be an expert on
what they are going through, why
things happen, or what God's will is.
 Don't talk (much). They need to
talk. You need to listen.
 Don't push them to make radical
changes. Demonstrate God's love
through actions, not adding another
stress on them.
 Don't Retraumatize by trying to get
them to “relive” the experience.
Confidentiality
 DO MAINTAIN
CONFIDENTIALITY.
 Let them know you will protect
their privacy. It is their story to
share... not yours.
 This is part of your providing
emotional safety for them.
 Relatedly, this is not a “photo
op.” No pictures or screen
captures.
Assessment
 Hearing the story will help you assess the needs and the
strengths of each person (Strengths include their
resilience…how they have managed crisis in times
past…).
 Listen each time as though it is the first time you heard
the story. Honor their story. It is theirs, not yours.
 Assess strengths…support system available to the
survivor (including social support system).
 Assess spiritual beliefs/source of strength
 Avoid bumper sticker theology. “Let go, and let God.”
“God will make a way.”
 Assessment. Remember Jesus on the Road to
Emmaus

 Luke 24:13-24
 Jesus walked with, spent time with,
questioned Cleopas and his friend, and
listened them share their story and
sadness.
 Although Jesus knew the situation far
more than they, He did not respond until
they had finished telling their story and
feelings.
Defusing: 1-on-1 or small group
discussion of a traumatic event.
 Usually less formally structured than
debriefing
 Held immediately after an incident
 Designed to reduce tension (“defusing the
stormy emotions”)
 More focused on feelings of the crisis and
reactions, rather than on facts or lessons
learned.
 Identify those in need of follow-up/referral
(such as those with flat affect.)
Other Crisis Intervention Models
 Red Cross adaptation of CISD: Multiple
Stressor Debriefing Model
 National Organization of Victim Assistance
(NOVA): Safety and security, ventilation and
validation, prediction and preparation
 Psychological First Aid (PFA)
 Operational Stress First Aid (OSFA)