Crisis Intervention HSE 225

Module Author(s)

• Debra Ford (Davidson-Davie Community College)

Course Description

This course introduces the basic theories and principles of crisis intervention. Emphasis is placed on identifying and demonstrating appropriate and differential techniques for interviewing in various crisis situations. Upon completion students should be able to assess crisis situations and respond appropriately.

Student Global Learning Outcomes

1. Students will be able to recognize symptoms of a cultural developmental crisis, known as the quarter-life crisis.
2. Students will focus on the Asian-American population as they demonstrate an understanding of intervention practices that can assist those in the late adolescent and early adulthood stages of life in overcoming the quarter-life crisis.
3. Students will demonstrate an understanding of emic values and patterns of Asian Families as they pertain to crisis intervention situations.
4. Students will learn about the immigration patterns of Asian Americans, focusing on the psychological implications of this process over the years.

Module Description and Activities

Module Description

This module has been developed for students earning a certificate or degree in Human Services. There are a wide range of potential careers in the human services field including first responders, school counselors, and family therapists, to name a few. This module provides several activities which will increase students’ cultural competence and humility as they learn crisis intervention techniques.

Student Global Learning Activities

Activity 1: Exploring the Quarter-life Crisis: A Cultural Crisis of Development

Objective: To educate students about the cultural phenomenon known as the quarter-life crisis, and to discuss intervention methods that can be used to assist individuals suffering from this condition.

Procedure: Students will be provided with reading material from the textbook about the quarter-life crisis. Of importance will be a focus on how people of Asian backgrounds may experience this crisis differently. Questions will be given that prompt students to critically think about ways to counsel clients who present with symptoms of this developmental crisis. Students will share their thoughts with each other in a discussion forum.

Example Discussion Forum Prompt:

1. Social media has become a part of modern societies around the world. Although social media has been around for several decades, it has become more mainstream in the last few years as an increasing number of apps enter the market. Classic platforms, such as Twitter and YouTube, continue to thrive alongside newer platforms, including Snapchat and TikTok. Social media provides education and entertainment to its users, however it has also been known to negatively impact the mental health of users.

In chapter 5 we discuss developmental and cultural crises, one of which is the quarter-life crisis, also called Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). This fear can lead to a crisis state, with people experiencing apprehension, anxiety, depression, or suicidal thoughts and actions.

Suppose that an adolescent female, Andrea (age 14), and her mother come to you for counseling services. During your initial session you learn the following:

Andrea had accounts on several social media apps. Recently at family gatherings, Andrea would spend time on social media instead of interacting with relatives. She also asked her mother to buy items she saw on social media and became angry when her mother said she didn’t have the money to do so. Andrea then blamed her mother for not allowing her to be a “regular” teenager and felt she was “missing out on life”. After Andrea’s mother took away her cell phone for impolite behavior, Andrea became withdrawn and seemed depressed.

Andrea is showing signs of experiencing FOMO. What actions would you take to help Andrea? Next, consider how you could help Andrea if she is experiencing emic patterns of behavior from being part of an Asian American cultural group. Refer to one of the emic patterns mentioned in our textbook in chapter 5. What actions would you take to help Andrea deal with this emic pattern?

Assessment: Students will be evaluated according to their understanding of the provided reading material, quality of their responses to the question prompts, and depth of engagement with their classmates in the discussion forum.

Follow-up: Constructive feedback will be provided by the instructor to each student. 

Assessment: Students will be evaluated according to their understanding of the provided reading material, quality of their responses to the question prompts, and depth of engagement with their classmates in the discussion forum.

Resource:

Kanel, K. (2019). A Guide to Crisis Intervention. Cengage Learning.

Activity 2: Exploring the Emic Values and Patterns of Asian Families as They Pertain to Crisis Intervention Situations

Addresses Student Global Learning Outcome 3:

Students will demonstrate an understanding of emic values and patterns of Asian Families as they pertain to crisis intervention situations.

Objective: The objective of this activity is for students to increase their cultural competence of Asian families by learning the emic values and patterns related to these cultures. Students will then reflect upon how they’ll apply this knowledge as they work with Asian families in a crisis intervention situation involving emic issues.

Procedure: Students are to research emic values and patterns of Asian families using the provided text, “Ethnicity and Family Therapy”. Note that this activity is part of a larger project. The prompts related to this particular part of the project are listed below.

Cultural Humility of Human Services Professionals:

1. Cultural humility includes lifelong learning and critical self-reflection. To that end, you will increase your knowledge of a family type of Asian ethnicity. Select any one family type within section IV (chapters 20 through 27) of the book “Ethnicity and Family Therapy.”
2. Reflect upon what you learned about this Asian family type, in terms of how this knowledge can help you as a future human services professional. This reflection should be a minimum length of one paragraph.

Assessment: Students will be evaluated according to their understanding of the provided reading material and quality of their responses to the prompts. Note that this activity is part of a larger project.

Follow-up: Constructive feedback will be provided by the instructor to each student.

Resource:

• McGoldrick, M., Pearce, J.K., & Giordano, J. (2005). Ethnicity and family therapy. Guilford Press.

Activity 3: Connecting historical perspectives and contemporary experiences of Asian Americans, with a focus on psychological implications

Addresses Student Global Learning Outcome 4:

Students will learn about the immigration patterns of Asian Americans, focusing on the psychological implications of this process over the years.

Objective: By understanding the historical experiences of certain groups within American society, students will become more aware of how these experiences shape the contemporary lives of individuals and communities of people who belong to these groups.

Procedure: To accomplish this goal, students will be assigned readings that cover a range of issues that Asian Americans have faced over the years and the relation of these issues to the mental health of this population. Some of the issues include immigration laws and policies, model minority status, stereotypes, mental health service utilization, cultural treatment options, and calls to action.

Students will then select two prompts from the list below to create a presentation/slideshow that they will share with the class.

Prompts to use for your presentation:

1. What are the main themes and ideas that the readings explore? How do they relate to your personal experiences and understanding of the topics?
2. What were some of the key arguments or perspectives presented in the readings? Were there any that you agreed with or disagreed with? Why?
3. What questions or ideas did the readings leave you with? Are there any areas where you feel like you need more information or clarification?
4. How do the readings connect with other texts or materials we have covered in class? Are there any contradictions or overlaps between different readings?
5. What are some potential implications or consequences of the ideas presented in the readings? How might they impact different individuals or groups in society?
6. What are some alternative viewpoints or perspectives that could be brought to bear on the topics discussed in the readings? How might these differing perspectives lead to different interpretations or understandings of the material?
7. What are some ways that the concepts presented in the readings might be applied in a practical or real-world context in the field of human services?

Assessment: Students will be evaluated according to their understanding of the provided reading material and quality of their responses to the prompts, as demonstrated in their presentation.

Follow-up: Constructive feedback will be provided by the instructor to each student.

Readings/Resources:

• Chu, J. P., & Sue, S. (2011). Asian American Mental Health: What We Know and What We Don’t
• Know. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 3(1).
• Leong, F. T. L., & Okazaki, S. (2009). History of Asian American Psychology. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 15(4), 353-362.
• Tseng, V., & Lee, R.M. (2021). From Margin to Center: An Asian Americanist Psychology. American Psychologist, 76(4), 693-700.
• Yoo, H. C., Gabriel, A. K., & Okazaki, S. (2022). Advancing Research Within Asian American Psychology Using Asian Critical Race Theory and an Asian Americanist Perspective. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 62(4), 563-590.

Activity 4: Clinical Treatment Practices for Asian American Clients in Crisis

Addresses Student Global Learning Outcome 3:

Students will demonstrate an understanding of emic values and patterns of Asian Families as they pertain to crisis intervention situations.

Objective: The objective of this activity is for students to increase their cultural competence of Asian American families by exploring case studies and research surrounding the clinical treatment of Asian American clients in crisis situations.

Procedure: Students are to select from several readings that cover the clinical treatment of Asian American clients in crisis situations. They will then answer the questions below to assess their cultural competence.

Questions:

1. Five common crisis situations are presented in the Ino and Glicken (1999) paper. Which fictional client do you feel would be the most challenging for you to counsel and why?
2. Select one topic below to learn more about Asian Americans and complete the associated reading. Then create a one-paragraph reflection detailing the most important points you learned from this article, in terms of providing mental health services to members of this particular group or groups.

• Cambodian and Laotian refugees: Thikeo, Florin, and Ng article
• Cambodian American adolescents: Dinh, McCabe, and Tein article
• Suicide prevention for BILPOC adolescents: Goldston et al., article
• Substance use among Asian American subgroups (7 mentioned): Shih et al., article
• Asian American college students: Han and Pong article

Assessment: Students will be evaluated according to their understanding of the provided reading material and quality of their responses to the prompts. Note that this activity is part of a larger project.

Follow-up: Constructive feedback will be provided by the instructor to each student.

Resources:

• Dinh, K. T., McCabe, A., & Tein, J. (2020). Culture and Well-Being Among Cambodian American Adolescents: Mediating Effects of Parental, Peer, and School Attachments. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 11(2), 88-97.
• Goldston, D. B., Molock, S. D., Whitbeck, L. B., Murakami, J. L., Zayas, L. H. & Hall, G. C. N. (2008). Cultural Considerations in Adolescent Suicide Prevention and Psychosocial Treatment. American Psychologist, 63(1), 14-31.
• Han, M. & Pong, H. (2015). Mental Health Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Asian American
• Community College Students: The Effect of Stigma, Cultural Barriers, and Acculturation. Journal of College Student Development, 56 (1), 1-14.
• Ino, S.M. & Glicken, M.D. (1999). Treating Asian American Clients in Crisis: A Collectivist Approach. Smith College Studies in Social Work, 69(3), 525-540.
• Shih, R. A., Tucker, J. S., Miles, J. N. V., Ewing, B. A., Pedersen, E. R., & D’Amico, E. J. (2015). Differences in Substance Use and Substance Use Risk Factors by Asian Subgroups. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 6(1), 38-46.
• Thikeo, M., Florin, P., & Ng, C. (2015). Help Seeking Attitudes Among Cambodian and Laotian Refugees: Implications for Public Mental Health Approaches. Journal of Immigrant Minority Health, 17, 1679–1686.

 

Resources and References Used in the Creation of the Module

See Activities.