Crisis intervention is psychological first-aid or emotional first-aid. It is temporary in nature. It serves as an active and supportive entry into the life of individuals or groups during a period of extreme distress.

Goals of Crisis Intervention:

The primary goals of crisis intervention are to:

1. Mitigate the impact of the event
2. Facilitate normal recovery processes in normal people who are having normal reactions to abnormal events
3. Restore individuals, groups, and organizations to their normal adaptive levels of functioning

Principles of Crisis Intervention:

• Simplicity – people respond to simple, not complex, in a crisis
• Brevity of interventions – from just minutes up to an hour or so in most cases – varying with the number of people impacted
• Innovative and flexible based upon the unique circumstances for the incident and the people impacted
• Pragmatic suggestions that are practical
• Proximity – the most effective contacts are those that are closest to the workplace
• Immediacy – typically a state of crisis demands rapid intervention in order to maximize effectiveness
• Expectancy – the crisis intervener attempts to create expectations of a reasonable positive outcome
• Psychological readiness to receive crisis intervention services

Adapted from Mitchell, J.T., Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) – Group Crisis Intervention, Chevron Publishing, Ellicott City, Maryland, 2006