I FIXED IT!
RESPONDING TO A CRISIS
Responding to a crisis
•
•
•
•
•
Instructor
Chaplain Lyle Prather Ph.D
Chaplain 1983 to present
Cowlitiz County Sheriff’s
Chaplaincy
WHAT IS A CRISIS?
A. Webster’s:
“An unstable or crucial time or
state of affairs whose outcome
will make a decisive difference for
better or worse.”
THIS COULD EXPLAIN BETTER
• Video
B. Roberts and Corcoran (2000):
“A person in a crisis state has
experienced a …threatening…or
traumatic event, is in a vulnerable
state, has failed to cope and lessen
the stress or trauma through
customary coping strategies, and
thus enters into a state of
disequilibrium.”
C. Chinese word for crisis:
1. Opportunity
2. Danger
TWO TYPES OF CRISIS
A. Sudden loss: (i.e., fire, vehicle
accident, violent event, etc.)
B. Gradual or transitional: (i.e.
lingering disease, cancer, etc.)
GENERAL PROFILE OF A CRISIS
A. Sense of Bewilderment (I never felt
this way before.)
B. Sense of Danger (I feel so nervous and
scared—something terrible is going to
happen.)
C. Sense of confusion (I can’t think
clearly, my mind isn’t working right.)
D. Sense of Impasse (I feel stuck, nothing
I do seems to help.)
E. Sense of Desperation (I’ve got to do
something – don’t seem to know what
though.)
F. Sense of Discomfort (I feel miserable,
so restless and uncomfortable.)
G. Sense of Helplessness (I can’t
manage this myself, I need help.)
H. Sense of Urgency (I need help now.)
I. Sense of Apathy (Nothing can help
me. I’m in a hopeless situation.
PHASES OF A CRISIS
A. High anxiety or emotional shock phase
1. Definition
This phase may perhaps be God’s
“anesthetizing” a normal response
triggered by the body’s nervous system.
Victims in this phase of the crisis
reaction fall into two main groups:
a. Hysterical and very active
b. Stunned, inactive and depressed
2. Physical symptoms
The hysterical or active crisis victim may
show or complain of one or more of these
signs (similar to the signs of shock):
a. Empty feeling in the stomach
b. Intense, subjective pain or
tension
c. Nausea, vomiting
d. Fainting
e. Lack of muscular control
f. Need for sighing
g. Agitation (such as wringing of
the hands.)
h. Screaming or crying
i. Hyperactivity
j. Feeling of tightness in the
throat
(difficulty breathing,
swallowing.)
k. Rapid speech
l. Rapid breathing
m. Flushed face
n. Dull eyes
o. Staring into space
p. Emotionally out of control
3. Psychological symptoms
The anxious crisis victim may display the
following psychological symptoms:
a. General feeling of distress and loss
b. Guilt feelings (“If only I had…”)
c. Hostile reactions that come from
a need to assuage the feeling of
guilt
d. The loss of patterns of conduct
or reason
e. A general feeling of helplessness or
taking on some of the traits/
behaviors of the deceased.
4. Suggestions for managing the highanxiety victim of crisis:
a. Remove the victim from the scene to a
less threatening, more secure
environment
b. Reassure the victim that you are there to
help
c. Talk to the victim
d. Touch the victim, if appropriate
e. Direct the victim to specific, taskoriented actions. For example,
tell them to “Move,” “Sit Down,”
“Hold this,” or answer your
questions
B. Denial Phase
1. Definition
Denial is a normal response to a
stressful situation in which the victim
can or will not acknowledge the
existence of a crisis.
a. It is a protection mechanism,
preventing too much from happening
too fast.
b. Even very sick or seriously injured
people tend to deny a crisis. For
example, a heart attack victim may
attribute pain to indigestion.
c. Another example: Parents of a
drug abuser may deny to the police
their son’s involvement in crime
because “He is such a good
boy.”
2. Suggestions for managing the denying victim of
crisis:
a. Allow the person to deny without
agreeing with him/her.
b. Gently and carefully tell the facts
c. Repeat again and again, if necessary
d. Don’t make empty promises
(“Everything is OK.”)
e. Show genuine compassion and
understanding.
C. Anger Phase
1. Definition:
Anger, a normal response to frustration, is
expressed when people feel they cannot cope
with a situation and feel overwhelmed by it.
a. An angry person may blame
him/herself, others, the
deceased,
or God
(Possibly using
blasphemous language.)
family
b. Guilt and anger sometimes cause
problems.
c. Crisis not only creates problems,
but also reveals them.
2. Suggestions for managing the angry
victim of a crisis:
a. Don’t take the anger personally. It
is really not directed at you.
b. Allow the victim verbal expression.
c. Don’t argue. You cannot win
against an emotion.
d. Show confidence. Tell the victim
you realize he/she is angry, but
that you are there now and will do
your best to help him/her.
e. Recognize that anger is normal,
although unpleasant.
D. Remorse, grief and reconciliation phases
1. Definition:
This phase is filled with feelings and
expression of guilt and sorrow. The victim
often blames him or herself and may repeat
“if only…”
a. Victims blame themselves for
suicides.
b. Victims tend to idealize the
deceased person and
exaggerate
their own bad
points (“I should
have…”)
c. Grief opens old wounds and
memories.
2. Suggestions for managing the remorseful
victim of crisis:
a. Listen carefully.
b. Reassure the victim.
c. Avoid judgmental statements.
d. Allow the victim to express him/herself.
e. Understand that it is not wrong to
sorrow.
F. Your role in the grief process
Doctors tell us that there is a definite
relationship between illness and grief badly
managed. You can be a part of the answer to
healing and not a part of the problem.
a. Understand and accept the
response phases and learn
how you can minister
effectively to those who
sorrow.
b. Help victims draw upon the
divine resources that God
provides, so that they might
accept their situations
maturely, creatively and
emerge at the end of the
valley better people than
when they went into the
valley.
c. Avoid preaching; it won’t eliminate
hostility and guilt.
HOW TO ASSESS A CRISIS SITUATION
A. Assess the situation
1. Briefly size up the problem. What has happened?
2. Quickly determine who is involved. What was the
cause? How serious is the problem?
3. Ask questions of on-scene personnel.
B. Make a plan
Next, make a preliminary plan of action based
on the assessment of the situation. Even if
the assessment is incomplete, you must do
something.
C. Implement the Plan
Act!
Intervene!
The key to successful crisis management is
A C T I O N! Whatever the plan, get it
going. Gently and firmly ask, “May I…”
• Video
Re-assess the Plan
Once you’ve implemented the plan, check it
out to see if it is working. If so, keep it going.
If not, abandon it.
Recap
Frequently tell the victim of crisis what has
happened, what is being done about it and
what is probably going to happen next. You
may have to repeat this over and over. Why?
Victims of crisis have an extremely difficult
time following all of the action going on
around them.
ON-SCENE LOGISTICS
A. Report to the on-scene supervisor as soon
as you get on site.
B. Stay outside the “yellow tape” unless invited
in.
C. Do not take anything in, or take anything out
of the crime scene.
D. Do not touch anything - keep your hand in
your pockets.
E. Do not use the telephone.
F. If invited behind the “yellow tape” use the
path marked for entrance and egress.