Cultural Competence in Crisis Intervention

Crisis intervention is an immediate care usually lasting few days to four weeks, this is what entails short-term psychological care aiming in assisting individuals in crisis situation in order for the person to be able to restore their equilibrium to their bio-psycho-social functioning. This intervention reduces the potential of long term psychological traumas. Although individuals react differently to different sources of crisis they are many factors which can cause an individual to enter a crisis. This depend on each single individual to be able to cope and endure events as death of love one, lost of job, terminal disease, losing their home and divorce among others.

When a crisis occurs and professional intervenes they should be prepare to deal with all types of peoples. Thus diversity is essential for competence in mental health care. When professional demonstrate high levels of competency they are able to understand and demonstrate empathy and sympathy towards their clients. Understanding other cultures, customs and traditions can offer professional other perspective when treating or providing assistance to multiple people. It is professional responsibility to construct that bridge of trust between therapists and clients. In order for this to happen they need to understand where the individual is coming from and what is expected in their culture.

Everyone in civilization at a certain time in life is subjected to go through a crisis, and not everyone copes the same. They are many sources of crisis such as death of love one, nature, rape and change of marital status among others (Reading , 2015). Since the beginning of time crisis events have assuredly afflict humanity condition, either threw natural disaster, physical illness, with time it change to affect the mental aspect of humanity, today causing many to suffer of mental illness. Many feel threaten either of losing their homes, family, or sense of well being. Thus, factors as previously mentioned can cause a psychological crisis and as research discuss this radical changes can cause individual to change their relationship with themselves and others (Dattilo & Freeman, 2007). Crisis Intervention is known as the first auxiliary process for mental health it helps professionals to identify, asses and to intervene with those individuals who are going through crisis. During these time of crisis a therapist and other professionals may intervene in other to immediately offer psychological assistance. This intervention is immediate and use for short term treatment. It helps the individual in crisis to restore their calmness back to their normal functioning; while in the process curtailing potential long term psychological trauma.

A crisis can as well be define as a temporary state in which a person may be upset, disoriented and disorganization characteristic may prevent the person to endure appropriately a situation utilizing acceptable methods in society to problem-solve, thus the event can exceed the individual’s resources and mechanism of coping (Collins & Collins, 2005). Therefore crisis intervention can help save an individual’s life, intervention can gradually help people in crisis to return to their normal self. They are three factors which are considered in crisis intervention, these are: the approach toward a chaotic situation, the person or group in crisis and the person who is assisting or mental professional who provides aid. When the individual is in crisis they need to receive in timely and skillful manner help, this will prevent further deterioration (Stevens & Ellerbrock, 1995).

When an individual goes through a crisis the most important thing is to assess the client response using assessment which are deemed to assess for crisis, for example, the task model of assessment and risk assessment can be utilized for assessment. It is essential to assess the person in crisis, because this will help determine the intervention process that will be required for the person. As discussed in the article of Anastacia Wallace 2019, the counselor is responsible for conducting assessment in the first session, and this will provide the counselor the information to form a hypothesis to better help the client to confront the crisis. When a person is going through a crisis their is a stimulus or catalyst that is causing them to react in crisis. In accordance to Collins and Collins 2005, they are some catalyst which are predictable and identified in advance, such as retirement or death of a person with terminal illness; thus it can as well be unpredictable as a sexual assault. If we notice either way there is an identifiable event creating catalyst which causes the crisis reaction to individual. Albeit if individual is not able to deal effectively with stressful changes in their environment this can create a crisis for the individual. As we are aware everyone deals with stressful events differently, thus stressful events only do not constitute a crisis; crisis is determine comparatively by the individual’s way of viewing the event and their response to it.

If the event is significant and threatening and the individual has use all their resources in trying to deal with the event this can push the individual to pursue other alternatives pushing the individual to experience psychological anxiety taking them to a state of crisis. They are different states of crisis and it is essential that professional have a blueprint to guide them in how to respond to crises. Thus a counselor who works at shelters needs to have understanding of crisis theory and their techniques intervention in other to appropriately meet the needs of the client. As discussed in the article those counselors who work with women in crisis need to promptly address the level of stress and impairment the woman find her self in, allowing the counselor to intervene actively and direct, but yet not taken ownership away from client (Shelters, 2009). Therefore, although they may be many different situations or circumstances that can produce a crisis, this does not define crisis intervention, but rather for the attention and ability or inability the individual possess to deal effectively to deal with the event. Thus many individuals may go through an event and each may deal differently with varying degrees of competency or success; while others may experience stress and tension in life events mounting up taking a negative toll on them and this causes for individuals to potentially experience a crisis in next traumatic event (Dattilio & Freeman, 2007).

In other for Crisis Intervention to function with an individual, professional must be efficient and culturally competent, since their client may not be from the same ethnicity or culture as the therapist. It is important for counselors, psychologist and other professionals who are working in the mental health care to be able to work with all type of individuals, and to do so they will need to acquire understanding of other cultures. Research express that in other to understand cultural competency, professional needs to grasp the full meaning of the word culture. Only by doing so they will be able to be able to practice cultural competency. So to do this professionals need to learn the values, norms, traditions and how individuals perceive these. In other word how they react, behave, think , interact and make judgements about the world that surrounds them. Usually in crisis intervention both professional and client are from different culture, thus professional needs to build quick rapport and trust with the client even when they are from different cultures. In other to do this professionals need to communicate with client utilizing both verbal and nonverbal language and attitudes in which professional is knowledgeable about and are accepted in cultural differences (Eilers, Cirincione Ulezi & Jackson, 2019).

Therefore it is important for professionals to be welling to engage in self awareness of how prejudice may manifest in their work (auto-examination of the self) toward other individuals of other cultures when working during a crisis intervention. For example, they are so many Hispanic in the United States that according to statistics they are the fastest minority growing population and it is expected to increase from a 14.8% to 24.4% by the year 2050 (Suarez-Morales, McCabe, Szapocznik, 2010). Due to such growth the field of mental health care is challenged to be able to develop culturally and linguistically competency to service this community in different aspect of mental health care, such as substance abuse and mental disorders which treatment effectively be able to meet the need of the hispanic community. In accordance to the article Do therapist cultural characteristics influence the outcome of substance abuse treatment for Spanish-speaking adults? There is limited research on evidence-based, on substance abuse treatment for monolinguals Spanish speaking adult populations. Thus, as research suggest in order to narrow that gap and conclusively improve health care for Hispanic population it is recommended to increase the cultural competence of therapist skills aspects which will ease cultural competency it leading to positive treatment plans and outcomes for the Hispanic community, especially those who are monolingual Spanish clients (Suarez-Morales, McCabe, Szapocznik, 2010). Another minority group African American are not much of using crisis intervention or other Mental health care programs.

According to research 50% of African American patients terminate their treatment right after the first session; while a 30% of European American patients terminate after the first session. Research suggest that African American are not as responsive to treatment services when compared with their European American counterparts. This phenomenon has call the attention to many professionals. Perhaps this discontinuation of treatment is due to the lack of multicultural competencies on the part of the professional. Perhaps this contributing factor when added to the equation, the client because of lack of professional understanding their culture they may decide not to return. As discussed in an article African American in a crisis intervention may wonder and asked themselves many question when professionals are not cultural competent with their culture, such as are these white people any different from other ones out there? These white people have already made their mind about me without even knowing me ( Stone & Conley, 2004). Neither the less other minority group as Asian-American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are known to be in a low percentile of receiving mental health care or crisis intervention. In accordance to Fong & Tsuang 2007, they are many AAPI who do not comply or reach out for mental health when needed or when a crisis is in place. As it discusses in the article this can also be due to the cultural inequality that they feel between them and the professionals. Thus, as a whole AAPI are extremely underrepresented in.

Additions treatments across all settings, al though they meet criteria for pathological gambling. Albeit article mentions that underrepresentation of AAPI is believed in part to be the cause of barriers to treatment such as cultural barriers. Shame is one mayor factor that prevent AAPI to look for mental health treatment when in crisis occur. When AAPI are confronted in response to crises they either denied or make the attempt to handle the problem within family members, especially between nuclear family members and siblings. Asian American Pacific Islander shame in asking for help is represented in their culture as a failure of the family to solve any situation, and it is within the norm of AAPI to represent and place a great significant emphasis on appearances of normal functioning behaviors, therefore any mental health issue is not seen or accepted within AAPI culture (Fong & Tsuang, 2007). When professionals within the mental health care are cultural competence to work with diverse cultural back ground this may help to break all different barriers within cultures having clients of diverse culture benefiting completely of therapy and treatments.

In reference to the challenge crisis intervention presents for the field of psychology and mental health is that crisis intervention is still cultural specific, although cultural competence is being address in the field of psychology their is still much more that needs to be done in reference to this matter. Those who are working in the mental health care programs have the need to be cultural competent, because cultural issues can cause complications in a crisis intervention response, if professionals are not accurately prepare to work with diverse backgrounds. Having knowledgeable and prepared professionals can make a huge difference when attending to crisis calls it can make a difference of life or dearth. Research shows that when mental health professionals fail to demonstrate signs of being prepare in order to accommodate cultural needs this will rise negative consequences of a crisis (Silva & Klotz, 2006). I feel it is important for professional to view culture as an asset to the practice of mental health, and this will be able to provide more of an open mind in order to achieve professional to seek ways to acquire cultural competence.

This same issue we can see in society. When minority groups are in need of a crisis intervention, but professionals are not properly prepared to work or address the need of minority groups as those previously mentioned this can be discouraging for those individuals. Thus minority groups such as Hispanics, Asian American and African American will not be able to benefit to the fullest from such crisis prevention or mental health care due to the lack of cultural knowledge of their culture. A situation like this may discourage minority groups to seek help when it is needed, because they feel they will not be understood, therefore help will not be possible for them in accordance to their believe. Those who seek help most of the time are skeptical and unsure, nether the less not to return to treatment or therapy because of the lack of connection with therapists. Another issue and challenge crisis intervention present in society is that in most health care system minority groups are known to experience poorer health and barriers in accessing some services. This issue can expand the mistrust that is installed within ethnic groups, creating a sense of mistrust and confusions. It is of most importance that health gap between groups be narrowed, and that services be to par among ethnic groups, this will give since of equality and services may be utilized because they feel they are being considered and honest concerned for their well being is presented. As articulated in an article I found it is a priority for health gap among people in these population groups to be narrow when compared with majority group (Szczepura, 2005).