Crisis Intervention Strategies

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review Chapter 2 in your course text, Crisis Intervention Strategies, focusing on the impact of culture on critical incident counseling.
• Review the article, “After the Storm: Recognition, Recovery, and Reconstruction.” Pay attention to the guidelines for improving multicultural competence.
• Review the article, “Developing Cultural Competence in Disaster Mental Health Programs: Guiding Principles and Recommendations.” Reflect on the importance of cultural competence in critical incident counseling.
• Select a critical incident that would require response counseling for survivors and think about a culture in which this critical incident might occur.
• Select two stages of human development of potential clients from the following: 6-year-old child, 14-year-old adolescent, 26-year-old young adult, 50-year-old older adult.
• Think about how you would respond differently to each of your clients depending on his or her stage of development when experiencing the event or situation you selected.

Post by Day 4 a brief description of the critical incident you selected (see bullet point 4 above) and the culture in which it might occur. Then, briefly describe your “clients” in terms of their stages of development (see bullet point 5 above). Please remember we are addressing the stages of human development here, not stages of crisis response. Next, explain how you would adjust your counseling approach based on the developmental stage/needs of your clients (bullet point 6 above). Be specific and provide examples to illustrate. Finally, explain how counseling for this critical incident might be different if the client(s) was/were of a different culture.