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Cowen, Jordan
Cowen, Jordan 1
Crisis Intervention and Responsiveness:
Reflection
Jordan Cowen
CNDV 5352Crisis Prevention Intervention
Lamar University
Crisis Intervention and Prevention Application and Reflection
ACA Code of Ethics that Pertain to Crisis Intervention and Prevention
After reviewing ACA’s code of ethics, it seems that most of the ethical standards could apply to crisis counseling. I skimmed over the entire list, and I picked out the codes that I felt would best be useful in a time of crisis. I have listed them below (ACA, 2005)
A.1.a. Primary Responsibility: The primary responsibility of counselors is to respect the dignity and to promote the welfare of clients.
A.1.d. Support Network Involvement
A.2.a Informed consent
A.2.b. Types of Information Needed
A.9.c. Confidentiality
A.11.c. Appropriate Termination
B.2.a. Danger and Legal Requirements
B.2.b. Contagious, Life-Threatening Diseases
B.1.c. Respect for Confidentiality
The ethics codes above were found in the ACA ethic codes, 2005 as well as in Cooper, 2010, chapter 3, Essential Crisis Intervention Skills.
Roles and Responsibilities of Counselors with Regard to Crisis Prevention and Intervention
Crisis counselors must be equipped with numerous tools, intervention skills, and prevention skills. Counselors must first build a strong rapport and a strong safe therapeutic environment so that the client can receive effective crisis intervention(Cooper, 2010). Crisis counselors should have engaging conversations that aren’t just verbal but also attending. Eye contact, body position, vocal tone, and using silence are all important factors for having effective crisis intervention skills(Cooper, 2010).
Crisis counselors aren’t just ones who have to counsel clients they must also play a vital leadership role in a crisis response team. Crisis counselors should collaborate with community personal to provide safely and stability when a community is going through a crisis. After the crisis has occurred, counselors must be able to provide specific interventions for each type of disaster (McGlothlin, 2010). Because crisis causes trauma and stress, counselors must know how to ease a person’s mental health, emotional health, or cognitive behavior (McGlothlin, 2010). There are various models of crisis intervention that can be used depending on the situation, people affected by the crisis, and amount of trauma people are experiencing. As the crisis evolves through different stages, the counselor must be flexible and supportive to better assist their clients (McGlothlin, 2010).
Specific Beliefs and Attitudes, Understandings, Skills, and Ethical Concerns Should be Addressed during Professional Preparation to Provide Crisis Prevention and Intervention Services
A crisis counselor must have many attributes, skills, and concerns in order to be an effective and beneficial counselor. A crisis counselor must be empathic as well as work towards building strong relationships with clients so that trust is established quickly and intervention can take place. Counselors must know how to deal with trauma and minimize distress during traumatic events. A counselor must also be flexible, prepared, and ready to assist people during any type of crisis.
The first skill I feel necessary for a crisis counselor to posses is being able to recognize when they are in need of self care and safety in a crisis situation. Counselors should also be proactive in planning and prepared for any reasonable crisis(Daughhetee, 2010).Because crisis counseling can affect people emotionally, physically, and cognitively, it is crucial for the crisis counselor to be aware of when he or she is in need for personal care(Daughhetee, 2010). If the counselor is not well, then they are not going to be able to be effective with clients who need care as well(Daughhetee, 2010).
Also, collaboration and understanding of how to work with crisis teams, community members or authorities, and other counselors so that intervention can be successful. Creating a collaborative environment helps ensure the safety of everyone(Daughhetee, 2010).
Additionally, crisis counselors must be able to provide ethical and legal help in various types of crisis conditions (Hard, Talbott-Frobes, & Bartlett, 2010). Being able to provide ethical and legal skilled help during a time of crisis protects the client as well as the counselor. Counselors must remain well, continue education, and seek peer consultation to remain up to date with ethical obligations (Hard, Talbott-Frobes, & Bartlett, 2010). It is pertinent that counselors understand HIPAA and the effects it has on counseling (Hard, Talbott-Frobes, & Bartlett, 2010). Also, understanding family education rights, privacy act, and FERPA is crucial to being any type of counselor (Hard, Talbott-Frobes, & Bartlett, 2010). Counselors must be sensitive to rights and obey the law in order to remain ethical as a counselor. The ACA, American Code of Ethics, 2005, discusses that counselors must recognize the importance of trust and confidentiality through the client and counselor relationship. The code of ethics also discusses the importance of duty to warn. As you can see, the law draws a fine line between what is right. There are several other laws and ethic codes that counselor must follow in order to maintain legal and ethical obligation. It is the responsibly of the counselor to keep up and follow the codes and laws.
Lastly, crisis counselors must be ready to serve their client or community in a time of need. There are various crisis that we as people, community, and even as a nation undergo, and it is a crisis counselors job to ease the pain and stress. Crisis counselors must continue to work with an open mind and serving heart.
Reflection on Crisis Intervention and Prevention
As an inspiring counselor that truly believes that life has set me on a path to be a school counselor, I was a bit taken back while digging deep in to crisis intervention and prevention. There were times I felt I was experiencing pain, inspiration, and sense preparedness while reading literature and cases that deal with crisis intervention and prevention.
The most intriguing part about analyzing crisis intervention and prevention is really getting to understand exactly what a crisis is. When you first think of a crisis, you think of a natural disaster or something that devastates many people at one time. I think for me the biggest eye opener was learning about suicide, IPV, death, sexual assault, and PTSD. These are aspects of life that some people deal with daily, and I feel that crisis counselors should be just as ready to deal with these aspects as they are a natural disaster or a terrorist attack. We have people in our communities that are battling such hardships, and I hope that I one day can make a life changing impact on these victims for the better.
Also, I had no idea what all FEMA entails until after taking the models. It is fascinating what all has changed just since September, 11th. I am grateful that as other tragedies have unfolded since 9/11 we have teams and programs set in place to assist people who are in need. Furthermore, I feel that the modules I watched showed incredible organization, leadership, and collaboration. I think it was a great example of what teams even in counseling, should look like. Collaboration with different groups and people is vital for any type of crisis. In addition, I think learning about FEMA’s componentsalso showed how valuable exercise and evaluation of practice is. FEMA and its’ branches are constantly evaluating their procedures and processes.
While the readings have been intriguing and the modules have been informational, I feel like I learned most from the cases assignments we analyzed and practiced with. I felt as if I knew those clients personally, especially the military cases. I really felt empathic for the clients, and I really found myself wanting to help them as quickly as possible. It was a great learning experience, and I think it was so important for me to really feel like I was counseling the clients. This course has been challenging and filled with great experiences. I found myself really having to accept the fact that trauma, crisis, and tragedy are real apart of being a counselor. It was great for me to make this realization so that I can better prepare myself for my future career. I know that I will have to use colleagues and dive deep into professional development that will help me better prepare me for crisis.
References
American Counseling Association (2005).ACA Code of Ethics. Alexandria, VA: Author. Retrieved from
Cooper, J. (2010). Essential crisis intervention skills in Jackson-Cherry & Erford’sCrisis intervention and prevention. NJ: Pearson Education, Inc
Daughhetee, C. (2010). Safety and self-care in crisis situationsin Jackson-Cherry & Erford’s Crisis intervention and prevention. NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Hard, P., Talbott-Forbes, L. & Bartlett, M. (2010).Ethical and legal considerations in crisis counseling in Jackson-Cherry & Erford’sCrisis intervention and prevention. NJ: Pearson Education, Inc
McGlothlin, J. (2010). Emergency preparedness and response in the community and workplace in Jackson-Cherry & Erford’sCrisis intervention and prevention. NJ: Pearson Education, Inc
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