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Home > Crisis Intervention in Child Abuse and Neglect > Crisis Intervention in Child Abuse and Neglect: The Crisis Intervention Worker
Crisis Intervention in Child Abuse and Neglect
User Manual Series (1994)
The Crisis Intervention WorkerIntroduction Crises can occur at any point in the CPS process. Therefore, crisis intervention skills are necessary for all CPS staff. Equally important is awareness of several issues which can affect the interviewers' abilities to remain objective. Interviewers' vulnerability and safety, psychological state and feelings, susceptibility to burn-out, and need for supervision and training are issues that are addressed in this section. Vulnerability and Safety Vulnerability and safety are experienced on both an emotional and physical level. Crisis workers care about their clients, which makes them vulnerable to personal disappointments. Being over emotionally involved can invite physically harm because of client jealousy or feelings of rejection. This means that an objective, nonjudgmental attitude is a necessary part of worker safety. The following are techniques which can increase the likelihood of interviewer safety. Interviewers should:
In some situations, where anger is escalating, it may be best to say, "I want to help so much, but it may take several good minds to work on this." Then the worker should call for other team members or ask to be excused to go get them. If at all possible, the crisis worker should try to show no panic, knowing that most clients are looking for role models who are in control of their own emotions but are not trying to "control" the client. In situations where there is danger of physical harm or doubt about the crisis worker's safety, more than one crisis worker should go to the home. Hopefully, at least one member of the team is familiar with and already accepted in the neighborhood. This decreases the likelihood of harm. It is also appropriate to ask clients to put away weapons. Law enforcement escorts may be needed in some CPS situations. Use of law enforcement escorts is appropriate when the risk of danger is unusually high, such as a family's past history of domestic violence, an isolated or violent geographic setting, mention of firearms in the report, or information on mental illness, drug usage, drug dealing, or other volatile situations. When responding after regular working hours or to a repeat complaint against a family, a second caseworker may be needed.96 Ultimately, it becomes a matter of experience, what feels safe, and the philosophy of a particular team. No crisis worker, however, should be forced to deal with a family with whom the worker feels overwhelmingly unsafe. As Markowitz states, most workers are able to overcome their fears as they become familiar with neighborhoods: "Therapists who do home-based work become inured to the feeling of danger after working for a short time in a crime-ridden area."97 Psychological State and Feelings When a crisis occurs, the crisis worker must evaluate his or her own emotional state as well as the psychological state and feelings of the clients. Lack of honesty about one's own emotional and physical state can interfere with the establishment of trust. For example, a worker who had physical pain and slight emotional problems was working with a sensitive client who later said, "I thought you were fed up with me." She had misinterpreted the worker's personal difficulties. Particularly, any feelings of dislike or resentment toward clients require discussion with a supervisor or peer. Sometimes workers begin to accuse, blame, displace anger, or overly identify with clients. Every professional needs to struggle with maintaining objectivity. For instance, previous life traumas at home or work, or current conflicts with relatives or employers, can affect how the worker views clients. If crisis workers find they are concentrating on client weaknesses, rather than strengths, then it is time for consultation. Preventing Burn-out Working with families who abuse or neglect their children can be personally exhausting. Crisis workers can become frustrated with uncooperative community resources just as they can become frustrated with the family. If a family's problems remind crisis workers of their lives, they can become overly attached or develop an aversion to working with them. There may even be times when crisis workers fear for their lives or the lives of family members. To ventilate feelings and find the positive in every case, the crisis worker needs debriefings with the supervisor and team. Such debriefings offer the crisis worker the opportunity to think through, in a supportive environment, what really transpired during crisis intervention. Sharing the progress and regression of a case allows the crisis worker to discharge feelings on both personal and professional levels and to learn new ideas and techniques which prepare the crisis worker for future cases. It provides a stabilizing, reality-oriented forum for reminding the crisis worker that unrealistic expectations bring disappointment and burn-out. Realistic expectations for families lead to stabilization and feelings of satisfaction for them and for the crisis intervention team. Supervision Because families and their crises are so varied, skillful supervision is critical to the success of the crisis intervention whether it is a part of Child Protective Services, a family preservation program, or other crisis service. The crisis worker should be able to contact the supervisor at any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sufficient administrative backup should be available to cover whenever the supervisor is absent. Also, the supervisor should be notified immediately if there is a threat of harm to a child or other family member or to the crisis worker. This includes any suicidal threats made within the family. The supervisor also should be contacted when the family is resisting a meeting or bluntly refusing to meet or when it appears that a child needs to be placed out of the home. Most other concerns can be discussed during regularly scheduled supervisory meetings, peer group supervision, or ongoing staff training. These might include the following:
Supervisors must maintain open and honest lines of communication, encouraging crisis workers to find the positive in situations and to set goals accordingly, much as workers do with families. For additional information on supervision, the reader is referred to another manual in this User Manual Series entitled, Supervising Child Protective Services Caseworkers.98 Training Requirements The success or failure of crisis intervention depends primarily on the expertise of crisis workers in a variety of areas. For example, organization, planning, diplomatic assertiveness, and flexibility are critical practice skills.99 The ability to work with other service providers to cut through agency and system barriers is a very important skill. Ultimately, crisis workers need training which helps them to understand abuse and neglect through a child's eyes, while they access services to address the child's pain and promote family healing. Training and staffing must address the broad cultural diversity of families that CPS and other crisis teams serve. The Behavioral Sciences Institute, Homebuilders' parent organization, has an extensive crisis-intervention training package which illustrates the range of topics involved in specialized training. Topics include: Diffusing dangerous situations, self-defeating and self-enhancing ideas, goal-attainment scaling, family life education, value of concrete services, client values and lifestyles, rational thinking, engaging the clients, confronting clients, family assessment, life skills such as anger management and conversational skills, assertiveness, appropriate expression of positive reinforcement, use of behavioral charts, gathering suicide risk information, use of "I" messages, assigning homework, identification of feelings, the social network and family support system, child management, dealing with lack of progress, problem-solving and negotiation, making referrals, evaluation of services, and when to contact a supervisor.100 The training requires 2 weeks of pre-service training plus ongoing inservice training. Summary During the crisis-intervention process, professionals use specific techniques to assure safety for themselves and all family members. When anger escalates during an interview, the crisis worker may need to be excused to call for another team member. In some volatile or criminally laden situations, law enforcement accompaniment is needed. Quality individual and group supervision, training, teamwork, and personal respite can assist crisis workers in maintaining objectivity, enthusiasm, and emotional health.
This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway. |
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