NCJ Number
77621
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 45 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1981) Pages: 56-62
Date Published
1981
Length
7 pages
Annotation
An overview of crisis-intervention theory is presented, and its applicability to offenders and their families as they encounter the criminal justice system is shown through case studies.
Abstract
Throughout the literature, the concept of crisis is based in a disruption of a person's equilibrium and accustomed methods of coping with problems, such that the person no longer feels capable emotionally or behaviorally of dealing with their life situations. By definition, all crises are temporary and place a person in a position of needing help from external resources. Traditional casework methods appear to be used most often in crisis intervention. Foremost among these are 'sustainment techniques,' which are designed to lower anxiety, guilt, and tension, while providing emotional support. This group of techniques includes giving reassurance that anxiety is normal in the situation being confronted, encouragement to counteract the client's sense of helplessness, and sympathetic listening that allows the client to vent feelings. Once the anxiety level has been reduced by supportive counseling, the worker can engage the client in reflective discussion, which involves focusing on the nature of the objective reality of the situation and helping the client devise approaches for dealing with the crisis situation. In the criminal justice system, the crisis points for defendants and their families are arrest and arraignment, sentencing, initial incarceration, and prerelease and parole. At each of these points, the individual defendant and the family may find themselves in a state of acute emotional disequilibrium. With only minimal formal training, perhaps in the form of an inservice seminar or workshop, crisis intervention could easily become a part of the practice repertoire of every correctional worker. Because crisis situations present an incentive for persons to seek help and deal with problems, it is particularly important that constructive help be available to support constructive adjustment for the crisis aftermath. Case studies of how crisis intervention techniques can be used in criminal justice contexts are provided, and footnotes and 12 references are included.