Crisis theory has existed long before the 20 th century. Human beings are affected by crises at some point in their lives. A crisis occurs when individuals perceive an event or situation as intolerable and difficult to deal with beyond their coping mechanisms and current resources. There are four main types of crises: situational crisis, environmental crisis, developmental crisis, and existential crisis. There three main theories of crisis intervention, which help to express crisis as an occurrence and crisis intervention as a reaction are the basic crisis theory, applied crisis theory, and expanded crisis theory. There are four goals of crisis intervention that help inform the principles that crisis intervention programs operate on. The Coalition for The Homeless is a New York-based crisis intervention program that meets the four crisis intervention principles and has the unique principles that help it meet its clients' needs.
Theories of Crisis Intervention Programs
There are varied models of crisis interventions that try to explain the varying views of the human crisis. Three main theories underwrite crisis intervention programs: basic crisis model, applied crisis model, and expanded crisis theory (James, & Gilliland, 2017). The basic crisis intervention helps clients identify and temporarily correct their cognitive, affective, and behavioral alterations resulting from the experienced events. The expanded crisis model was developed because the basic crisis theory failed to address situational, environmental, and environmental influences that make an occurrence a crisis (James, & Gilliland, 2017). The main domain of expanded crisis model includes the psychoanalytic model, systems model, adaptation theory, and ecosystems theory, among other theories. The applied crisis model focuses on four critical domains; existential crises, situational crises, normal developmental crises, and ecosystem crises.
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Goals of Crisis Intervention
Crisis intervention aims at alleviating the immediate pressures that people experience to ensure their pre-crisis level of functioning is restored. There are various goals of crisis intervention, depending on the type of crisis one is dealing with. However, there are four principle goals that any crisis intervention plan must have. The first goal of crisis intervention is to relieve the symptoms experienced by the individual or group (Cavaiola, & Colford, 2017). This ensures the victim’s distress does not escalate. The next step is to understand the relevant precipitating events contributing to the disequilibrium state that the person is experiencing. Here the interventionist looks for specific ways they can mitigate the symptoms of distress. The third goal is to restore the individual to the optimal level of functioning that they were in before the present crisis existed (Cavaiola, & Colford, 2017). Finally, the last goal of crisis intervention is to identify remedial measures taken by the client available in the community resources (Cavaiola, & Colford, 2017). This ensures the client gets the level of care and support needed.
Principles of Crisis Intervention
Crisis intervention is a useful tool in managing and reducing human distress. Crisis intervention is guided by fundamental principles that are set to facilitate the mitigation of crises. The first principle of crisis intervention is to intervene immediately after the event to stabilize the victim or the community. The next principle is to facilitate an understanding of what has happened to the victim (Everly, n.d). The third principle is to focus on a problem-solving strategy within the client’s possible options. Finally, the fourth principle deals with encouraging the victim to opt for self-reliance as a means to restore their previous sense of independent functioning.
How the Coalition for the Homeless meets the leading Principles of Crisis Intervention
These four principles of crisis intervention are employed in all crisis intervention programs. The Coalition for The Homeless is a New York-based crisis intervention program offering its help to homeless and at-risk New Yorkers for more than 35 years (Coalition for the Homeless, 2020). The program provides support and services to up to 50 households in New York daily. This program meets the four principle principles of crisis management in the following ways. First, the program helps its clients on a walk-in basis by providing them with a full spectrum of services (Coalition for the Homeless, 2020). These services include access to decent emergency shelter and obtaining food stamps, thus meeting the first principle of crisis intervention.
The program has employed workers who are uniquely positioned to tackle homelessness. They have a good understanding of the NYC shelter system and the situation in New York, thus meeting the second principle of crisis prevention (Coalition for the Homeless, 2020). The firm also focuses on problem-solving within the client's realm as it aims to identify the specific problem of the individual. It has a program that works with homeless adults and another program that works with homeless families with children, thus stabilizing them within their regions (Coalition for the Homeless, 2020). Finally, the firm also meets the fourth principle of crisis intervention, where it allocates each client with a caseworker who helps them secure longer-term assistance to secure housing.
Principles of the Coalition for the Homeless Intervention Program
The program has several guiding principles on which it acts. First, the program seeks to avert homelessness in the state of New York. The program utilizes this principle by advocating for cost-effective housing-based solutions to combat mass homelessness in the region Coalition for The Homeless, 202 0). Another principle of the program is to help men, children, and women survive the immediate crisis and put them on a path to long stability. The program utilizes this principle by providing 11 frontline programs that help more than 3500 women, men, and children ( Coalition for The Homeless, 2020 ). Another principle of the program revolves around eviction prevention, where the coalition believes in preventing homelessness before it occurs. This principle is utilized in the program where the clients reach out to the program through the hotline and get a one-time grant of $1,000 (Coalition for The Homeless, 2020). The grant is given to clients who can demonstrate their ability to pay their rent going forward.
Conclusion
Crisis intervention programs are essential because they help people to cope with crises and intolerable situations. Crises can be grouped into four critical categories; situational crisis, environmental crisis, developmental crisis, and existential crisis. Understanding the type of crisis that affects an individual is critical because it helps determine the appropriate crisis intervention program. Crisis intervention programs can be classified into three categories: basic crisis model, applied crisis theory, and expanded crisis model. These interventions have four critical objectives. Understanding these objectives is critical in effectively applying for crisis intervention programs.
References
“ Coalition for the Homeless .” (2020). https://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/about-the-coalition/
Cavaiola, A. A., & Colford, J. E. (2017). Crisis Intervention: A Practical Guide . SAGE Publications.
Everly Jr, G. S. (n.d.). Five Principles of Crisis Intervention: Reducing the Risk of Premature Crisis Intervention . https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/19a1/cbcae23ae3151116cc4bbb14a5d259cfd947.pdf
James, K., R., & Gilliland, E., B. (2017). Crisis Intervention Strategies . Eighth Edition. Cengage Learning. The University of Memphis.
