crisis intervention
Meaning of crisis intervention: Crisis intervention aims to reduce immediate risk during an acute emotional crisis rather than provide the ongoing care an underlying problem may need.
Definition of crisis intervention
Crisis intervention is short term, immediate support provided to someone experiencing an acute emotional or psychological crisis, such as a suicidal crisis, an acute traumatic reaction, or another situation involving a sudden loss of the person's usual ability to cope. It is typically delivered by a trained counselor, social worker, or other mental health professional and can take place in person, over the phone, or through a crisis text service.
The immediate goals of crisis intervention are to reduce distress, help restore a person's sense of safety, and address any immediate risk, such as risk of self-harm, rather than to resolve whatever underlying problem contributed to the crisis. Contact with a person's existing support system and connection to further care are often part of this immediate response.
Because crisis intervention is meant to stabilize an acute situation rather than provide ongoing treatment, it is generally followed by referral to longer term mental health care addressing the underlying issue once the immediate crisis has eased.
Used in a sentence
A crisis intervention counselor was contacted after the patient expressed thoughts of self-harm.
Good to know
Crisis intervention addresses the acute emergency itself rather than the underlying condition that contributed to it, reflected in its typically brief duration compared with ongoing mental health treatment.