Crisis Intervention

A crisis is an emotionally significant event, which has a stressful impact sufficient enough to overwhelm the usually effective coping skills of either an individual or a group. They often are sudden, powerful events which are outside of the range of ordinary human experience.

A crisis is also a temporary state of upset and disorganization, characterized chiefly by an individual’s inability to cope with a particular situation using customary methods of problem solving, and by the potential for a radically positive or negative outcome.

TYPES OF CRISES/CRITICAL INCIDENTS

1. A natural disaster for example, a fire, an earthquake, a flood, etc.
2. An accident on school grounds for example, a plane crashes on the playground during recess
3. An accident near school grounds for example, a tanker truck overturns on the freeway nearby and is leaking gas
4. A violent incident in or near the school for example, a high school student shoots another on campus, gang/ethnic group related assaults, hostage situation
5. A violent incident involving a student or staff member off school grounds for example, a teacher is murdered by a family member
6. The suicide of a student or staff member for example, during the school year, a fifth grader commits suicide by taking pills
7. The suicide of a family member of a student or staff member for example, the brother of a student shoots himself
8. The death of a student or staff member for example, an eighth grader drowns in an irrigation canal
9. The accidental death of a family member of a student or staff member for example, a teacher’s daughter is killed in a car accident
10. The terminal illness of a student or staff member for example, a second grade student dies of cancer during the school year
11. Civil unrest for example, riots, gang warfare

The purpose of mental health intervention is to restore equilibrium among the students and staff and the environment. Individuals are then able to perceive school and their world as a place of safety and security.

It is critical that schools be prepared to respond efficiently and effectively to school tragedies (such as school violence) according to the California Association of School Psychologists. Therefore, we have in place a Crisis Response Team.

Our Crisis Intervention Program allows us to assess the impact of a school crisis, stabilize the situation, and return to the normal learning routine as quickly as possible. Students and staff needing additional services are identified and referred to other resources in the community that provides longer-term mental health treatment.