SBC Psychology Crisis Intervention and Management Discussion

Please answer the questions and then two peers.

FIRST Peer Tomasina

A crisis occurs when a person experiences emotional distress that impairs functioning despite the use of their typical coping methods in response to an

event perceived as threatening or damaging. (Kanel, 2019). This definition may sound akin to trauma because it is. A crisis may give rise to trauma but is

distinguished from trauma by being resolved relatively quickly after the precipitating event (Dass-Brailsford, 2007).

Crises may be caused by dramatic circumstances such as natural disasters, but because perception creates the person’s reality, crises may also be

caused by any number of events that may seem much simpler to different people. Regardless of how objectively problematic the precipitating event is,

there are commonalities in response. People in crisis will experience various negative feelings and be unable to deal with them via their usual coping

mechanisms, leading to an inability to function as they did prior to the precipitating event (Kanel, 2019). 

SECOND peer Chloe

There are many definitions of a crisis, but the gist is that a crisis is a person’s lack of coping to a stressed that requires immediate attention. The course books states a crisis is a state of disequilibrium occurring after a stressor in which a person is unable to function due to a lack of coping mechanisms (Kanel, 2018), p. 21). According to Pilling et al. (2022) another definition of a crisis is a mental health emergency that has a significant impact on mental health functioning and requires immediate attention. A crisis can form in a couple different ways. Crises can occur during life stage transitions, which are known as developmental crises (Kanel, 2018). Developmental crises are considered normal, but are considered crises due to people’s lack of ability to cope with the life changes. Another way crises form are during abnormal situations (i.e., situational crises). Situational crises occur during traumatic events that include, but are not limited to natural disasters, community disasters, crimes, and death. A developmental crisis occurs unexpectedly and suddenly. Thus, crises form many ways, but ultimately there needs to be some sort of disastrous event that causes a person to be unable to cope.

According to the text, four things make up a crisis (Kanel, 2018). These four things include precipitating events, a person’s perception of the event is damaging, the perception of the event leads to emotional distress, and the emotional distress leads to impaired functioning in one or more life domains. These aspects of a crisis are due to previous coping skills no longer working. The precipitating event is what leads to the person’s perception and emotional state regarding the event. The event can be a wide range of events such as witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event and going through life transitions. The person’s perception is what determines the event to be a crisis. If the person is able to effectively cope with the event, it would not become a crisis. Those who become emotionally distressed due to said event can develop into a crisis state due to the lack of adaptation. Crises are fairly common and responders must be trauma informed in order to effectively help a person through a crisis.