Crisis Intervention

• An overwhelming majority of personal crime victims (91.5%) do not receive assistance from any agency. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2001).
• Over half of all personal crime victims lose between 1 to 5 days of work. (Ibid).

Overview

Crisis is defined as "a dramatic emotional or circumstantial upheaval in a person's life" and "a stage in a sequence of events at which the trend of all future events, especially for better or for worse, is determined; a turning point."(Random House, 1987).

A wide range of human emotions and behaviors can accompany crisis, particularly when the crisis relates to victimization. People react differently to stress and crisis situations based on their own skills or behaviors, abilities to cope, maturation levels, and personalities. For some, a crisis situation may be coupled with changes in behavior such as sleeplessness or over-eating. For others, a crisis may include denial, disbelief, and the inability to cope. Still others may experience physiological changes such as an increase in their heart rate, sweating, or fainting.

The importance of crisis intervention for victims of crime is paramount. The goal of crisis intervention is to help victims confront the reality of what happened, begin to deal with the crisis, and to go beyond the pain and emotional trauma toward new strength and opportunities for growth and change. Victims may include those who were the target of the victimization, as well as others affected by the crime such as parents, spouses, friends, or witnesses. The challenge for crisis intervention programs is to provide effective crisis support and assistance as soon as possible following victimization, and to make available resources and services to meet the needs of victims by providing direct assistance or referrals to other agencies.

What Is Crisis Intervention?

Crisis intervention for victims of crime may vary depending on the needs of the victim and the type of victimization. However, there are some critical elements to crisis intervention services that are necessary for all victims, including:

• Psychological first aid; and
• Survivor needs assessment and empathetic support.

The Three Phases of Crisis Intervention

Immediate crisis intervention or "psychological first aid" involves establishing a rapport with the victim, gathering information for short-term assessment and service delivery, and averting a potential state of crisis. Many victims may be resistant to crisis intervention due to fear or anxiety. Resistance is one form of the victim's response to a crisis situation. The immediacy of the response is critical to ensure the safety of the victim and his or her family Time may be extremely important because of impending danger to the victim or the family. Victims should not wait hours or days to see a crisis intervention counselor to assist in their time of need.

Helpful phrases for Crisis Interveners:

Empathy and Rapport

1. I am so sorry that this happened to you.
2. This must be a very difficult time for you right now.
3. I can hear/see that you are having a hard time with this.
4. You don't have to handle this on your own

Identification

1. What I hear you saying is....
2. Do you think it would be helpful if we talked about how you felt at the time.
3. How do you think you reacted at that time?
4. I know that it may not be easy to do, but can we talk about this some more.

Validation

1. It sounds like you are angry right now.
2. You did not do anything wrong.
3. What you are feeling is not uncommon.

Immediate crisis intervention also includes caring for the medical, physical, mental health and personal needs of the victim, and providing information to the victim about local resources or services. Referrals should be made to other agencies for other services, such as shelter facilities, home security, or for crime victim compensation.

The second phase of crisis intervention involves an assessment of needs to determine the services and resources required by the victim in order to provide emotional support to the victim. The purpose of this phase is to determine how the crisis affects the victim's life so that a plan for recovery can be developed, allowing the victim to begin moving towards the future.

The third phase--recovery intervention--helps victims re-stabilize their lives and become healthy again. It also involves helping the victim prevent further victimization from the criminal justice system or other agencies the victim may come into contact with in the aftermath of victimization. This is the initial period of recovery for the victim, and may require considerable time, effort and resources before the victim resolves long-term issues associated with the victimization.(Roberts, 1990).

Victim service providers also focus on reducing risk factors for victims, maximizing their social support systems, maximizing and improving their coping skills, and helping victims attain greater self-esteem and self worth. This includes working with other agencies to reduce added trauma imposed on victims who go through the complex and often frustrating criminal justice system.

Crisis intervention is an important element of the healing process for victims. Crisis intervention should not be assigned to one specific agency or organization, but should be an important element of each agency or organization that deals with victims of crime. This includes victim advocacy organizations, private agencies or organizations (such as hospitals or schools), social service agencies, law enforcement, and corrections. Many law enforcement agencies have developed crisis intervention teams staffed by professional social workers to respond to crisis situations they face as a result of emergency calls. To be effective, crisis intervention must be provided in an orderly, structured, humanistic manner and must focus on the individuality of the victim and his or her needs.

References

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (January 2001). Criminal Victimization in the United States, 1999:

Statistical Tables. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.

Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition, unabridged. (1987). New York: Random House, Inc.

Roberts, Albert R. (1990). Helping Crime Victims: Research, Policy and Practice. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Bibliography

Greengard, Samuel. (1988). "Crime After Crime." Barrister Magazine, 15(4):23-27.

National Center for Victims of Crime (1989). Opportunities for Action: Crisis Intervention. Fort Worth: National Center for Victims of Crime.

For additional information, please contact:

National Center for Victims of Crime
2000 M Street, NW, Suite 480
Washington, DC 200035

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Copyright © 2001 by the National Center for Victims of Crime.   This information may be freely distributed, provided that it is distributed free of charge, in its entirety and includes this copyright notice.