•CRISIS INTERVENTION

• Each one of us has gone through a crisis at one time or another.

• What we all are going through is no less.
• There are at least 4 types of common crises :
• 1. Developmental : These take place in the normal flow of human growth & development
under circumstances that are considered normal ( e.g., child birth, marriage, retirement).
• 2. Situational : Uncommon & extraordinary events occur that an individual has no way of
predicting or controlling ( loss of a job, road accident)
• 3. Existential : This includes “inner conflicts & anxieties that accompany important
human issues of purpose, responsibility, independence, freedom, & commitment”
(James,2008).
• 4. Ecosystemic – In this, some natural or human-caused disaster overtakes a person or a
group of people who find themselves, through no fault or action of their own
(James,2008) (e.g., earthquake, tsunami, act of terror, corona virus pandemic).
• Grief Crisis
• An individual is unable to manage his feelings following the death ( sudden or natural) of a loved
one or some significant members of the society or family. The person just cannot cope with this
difficulty & painful situation.
• The person may recall or want to talk about the person lost - share the memories, etc.
• While the client is speaking the counsellor listens & tries to experience the client’s painful feelings
along with him.
• The duration of a grief reaction depends on the success with which a person does the grief work –
adjustment to the environment in which the loved one is missing, forming new relationships, etc.
• One barrier to grief work could be the avoidance of the expression of emotion necessary for it (
Lindemann,1944).
• The grieving person is in bondage to the deceased.
• To free the person from this bondage, the counsellor must be willing to experience along with the
client the profound sense of loneliness, guilt, responsibility , etc. ( survivor’s guilt).
• To do this, the counsellor , must have his feelings well in control.
• Factors in Working Through Grief
• A number of factors play a part in how well or poorly a grief crisis can be
resolved:
• First, the suddenness of the death is of much practical importance. Then there is
a qualitative difference between our loved one suddenly dropping dead & a loved
one lingering on for a period of time, wasting away with illness.
• Rubin’s Model – Rubin has proposed a 2-track model of bereavement, similar to
Lindemann’s, but particularly applicable for understanding our complex
adjustment process.
• This model refers to the bereavement response both from the perspective of the
bereaved ’s emotional bond with the deceased & the bereaved’s personality
change as a result of the grief.
• The task of the grief response is to re-establish functioning in all areas, even if it
does not necessarily reach the pre-loss levels of functioning.
• Rubin has outlined 3 main stages:
• Acute grief period - First stage requires the bereaved to accept the reality of the loss &
to begin the loosening of emotional attachments to the deceased . It is marked by
dramatic changes in behavior & pronounced personality modification.
• Mourning period – The second stage is marked by a more subdued process of
detachment from the deceased & more subtle changes in personality. Some personality
variables may have stabilized, while others are still influenced by the continuing process
of affective detachment from the loved individual.
• The final stage – A resolution has been achieved. The detachment process has reached
its conclusion & personality changes have also stabilized. Equilibrium has been achieved.
At this stage, the affective relationship to the deceased & the presence/ absence of
persisting personality changes can be discussed objectively. The bereaved is more
rational.
• COMPARE IT TO THE INDIAN SITUATION: THE MOURNING PROCESS CARRIED OUT(FIND
OUT FROM YOUR PARENTS& GRANDPARENTS)
• Suicidal Crisis
• In this situation, the client expresses to the counsellor either a specific or vague intention of committing
suicide. Usually such a client is suffering from a feeling of overwhelming helplessness & futility, the belief
that nothing can help, nothing can make a difference.
• The person feels closed in, confined in an unbearable situation from which there is no escape.
• The fact that the suicidal client is speaking to someone about these feelings , is seeking help, indicates a
desire to prevent it though he does have suicidal ideation.
• In dealing with the suicidal client, the counsellor must be willing to listen to the client & recognize that
depression is overcoming the client.
• It, however, gets difficult if the counsellor himself starts feeling anxious because of the subject of suicide.
• Hence, to help others, counsellors must resolve their own anxiety about the issue to elicit pertinent
information from clients.
• Therapeutically, the counsellor can do is, to tell the client that things are not as bad as they seem & that
things will improve & that he (the client) has several reasons to go living. The client on the other hand may
feel that he is not being understood.
• Hence, the counsellor should put himself in the shoes of the client &
also be willing to explore in himself those feelings of despair &
emptiness that he (counsellor) personally tries to avoid. The
counsellor should –
• Ascertain whether the method of destruction has been arrived at.
The more specific the client’s plans, the closer he is to carrying out
the act.
• Its not advisable to have the client “look at the bright side” of the
situation. If he could see the bright side, he would not be in this
situation.
• To take all suicidal threats seriously.
• Rape Crisis (Sexual abuse)
• Rape victims are being recognized as those who are special & have suffered a trauma of a unique
nature.
• Hence, the need for providing counselling services for such victims is on a rise, either immediately
following the rape trauma or in the days, weeks, & months thereafter.
• According to Nass (1977), the stigma attached to the victim of rape which is traceable to cultural
sex role stereotypes & irrational popular judgments of female complicity that discourages the
woman in crisis to reach out for help.
• Public ridicule & scorn is attached to the victim sharing her experience. The rape victim is isolated
from the supports available to victims of other types of misfortunes.
• Police authorities, court, peer, family & other groups may also pose a problem.
• Specific counselling interventions depend, to a large extent, on the setting. E.g., in the hospital
setting where the victim is first brought, a different type of approach is required, at the police
station yet different as compared to the individual counselling setting some weeks after the
traumatic event (Williams & Williams,1973).
• Broadly speaking, the post rape counselling can be divided into 3 periods:
• 1) the hours immediately following the rape
• 2) the weeks thereafter, &
• 3) long range considerations.
• During the hours immediately following the rape, the victim is likely to be either at the police station or the hospital.
• The goals of any counselling endeavours will be influenced in these settings by the need to obtain information about the crime,
the circumstances, the victim, & about the perpetrator.
• The efforts to reduce the victim’s state of distress & relax her ought to be made.
• It may be essential at this time to obtain relevant medical information necessary for treatment. Information like is the woman on a
contraceptive, is pregnant, has some gynaecological problems , injuries incurred during rape, etc. need to be collected.
• Assessment of reactions of family members, e.g., violence against the victim by them.
• The rape trauma syndrome ( Holmstrom & Burgess,1975) comprises of the following phases:
• 1) Acute phase – It includes many physical symptoms, esp. gastrointestinal irritability, muscular tension, disturbances in sleep,a
wide range of emotional/behavioural responses. Many of these problems are dealt with by the physician himself , soon after the
attack.
• 2) Long term phase – The counsellor plays a vital part in helping the victim get through this phase, which includes life-style
changes, changing residence, seeking family support, dealing with PTSD (nightmares,etc.).
• Weeks after the rape, counsellor should aim to find out the total
effect upon the client’s life, e.g., if her sex- life has been affected, her
relations with men post rape, relations with the spouse , other family
members.
• Also, the physical complaints, adverse comments &/or behaviour at
work-place, community , etc. need to be monitored & taken care of.
• In some cases there may be a delayed shock response. So, keeping
this in mind it’s a good idea to schedule an appointment 6-10 months
following rape to see if the immediacy of trauma has subsided.
• Movies to be watched : GHAR, ARTICLE 376, FOLLOWED BY A
DISCUSSION.