Treating a person in a crisis involves implementing short-term goals to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. It is very important for both the individual and the family to return to normalcy. In addition, helping the individual learn and utilize coping skills going forward is vital. To effectively treat an individual in a crisis situation, a basic assessment should take place regarding family background, diagnosis, social history, medical history, behaviors and any known antecedents that may escalate from a behavior to a crisis. Initially, safety should be the primary objective during intervention in order to mitigate any risks and create safeguards. That objective should also be an opportunity to promote awareness and growth. Nevertheless, it is essential that the person working with the individual involved in a crisis remains culturally sensitive and respectful of family structures. Sensibility is a prevalent factor in crisis situations therefore health professionals must develop methods and approaches accordingly. Health professionals should also be flexible in their approach by observing all cognitive, behavioral and affective patterns for individuals that may clarify the origin of the behavior. After the origin is identified, a plan should be put in place to reduce the risk or escalation of a crisis behavior.
The purpose of crisis intervention is also to relieve the stress of the family and help the members focus on positive aspects instead of negative situations. In fact, crisis intervention from health professionals allows the family to get a breather and be able to relax from a traumatic situation. However, it must be noted that some precursors or stressors can result from interactions with the family members. The domestic environment can be very challenging as a person has to deal with multiple personalities while managing their own issues. Families must also learn to be non-judgmental towards individual. There also may be an issue with the way the family disciplines the individual. For those reasons, the health professional must ensure the family is educated on the concepts of behavior management and strategies for crisis prevention.
Crisis intervention involves therapeutic techniques that allow the individual, family and other support parties to choose and maintain attainable goals. Barriers such as resistance to change, complaints, non-adherence to rules or the plan are evident. However, with persistence and repetition, the individual will be able to learn coping skills, anger management skills and conflict resolution. As a result, the individual should feel empowered about having the ability to control their emotions and make better decisions. Community services should also be utilized and cooperation should be sought from the community in the midst of a crisis. The crisis response team should also be comprised of health professionals with a multitude of expertise in key areas in regard to medical, behavior, therapeutic and social factors. Counseling the individual while developing task oriented activities is also beneficial. The treatment of family members should consist of teaching members how to avoid confrontation and the importance of active listening. The family could also benefit from learning to incorporate planned ignoring which is an approach for ignoring the behavior and not the person. Still, other techniques such as role-playing, socio-drama, normalization, proactive strategies, reactive strategies, partialization, ventilation and setting boundaries are very useful treatment models. In conclusion, the opportunity for a crisis to occur can always be evaded if an appropriate intervention plan is put in place.