Crisis+prevention+and+response

Crisis Prevention and Response



Second Edition 2012: Megan Trachok and Kristen Gerpe [|First Edition 2011: Megan Balensiefer and Luke Erichson]

[|www.tanweir.net] ** WHY IS CRISIS PREVENTION AND RESPONSE IN SCHOOLS IMPORTANT? ** Students' responses to crises often impacts their school success. Students may experience school disengagement and preoccupation post-crisis. These problems are most troubling as it relates to increased susceptibility to depression and suicide. In addition, because no other systems oversee the mental health of all children and adolescents, it is even more crucial that schools are prepared to do so. If a crisis related problem appears to be too severe for school resources and interventions, the schools should work with the students and their parents to seek additional supports, resources and services. []

[|علاج الكلف] [|تشمع الكبد] [|حصى المرارة] [|رجل حامل] [|علاج القشرة] [|مرض الجذام] [|تغذية الطفل الرضيع] [|علاج الحساسية] [|فحص ما قبل الزواج]

media type="custom" key="12387490" align="center"
 * Crises That Affect Students**
 * [|natural disaster]
 * terrorism
 * the death of a student
 * the death of a staff member
 * [|school violence]
 * economic distress
 * pandemic disease outbreak
 * [|bullying]

[|عروض بنده, عروض العثيم , عروض التميمي , عروض الدانوب]

[|أندرويد]

[|عروض بنده, عروض العثيم , عروض كارفور , عروض الدانوب , عروض جرير , عروض اكسترا]

media type="custom" key="12387500" align="center"
 * suicide

Barriers to Implementation Mazza and Reynolds (2008) note that there may be some resistance to crisis prevention strategies, especially for suicidal behavior. They discuss the following common barriers:
 * //Misinformation and myths//. One example is the idea that talking about suicide increases suicidal thinking and behavior. Research has consistently shown this not to be true. In fact, asking about suicide is an essential part of preventing it. In the overwhelming majority of cases, parents of suicidal teenagers do not know about their children’s suicidal thoughts or behaviors. This underscores the importance of screening programs: children and adolescents are usually honest in admitting depressive and suicidal thoughts.
 * //Parents’ refusal//. Parents may not believe the school should be involved in a private part of children’s lives—mental health—and therefore be reluctant to consent to preventive measures.
 * //School administrators and personnel.// Administrators are often strong advocates for prevention and are essential to initiating a sustainable effort, but they can also be barriers to these crisis prevention programs. Some personnel, including school mental health providers, may view screening as intrusive and prefer other approaches that are less empirically validated. Importantly, leaders seeking to implement change need to have a plan to follow up with identified students. It is reasonable to expect resistance to a prevention plan if the resources are unavailable to meet demand.
 * //Funding.// Crisis prevention, like many forms of prevention, may be viewed as drawing money away from intervention.

> > > **Staff reluctance: "Whose job is this anyway? " > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
 * **Jaksec (2007) identified several reasons for school personnel reluctance to engagement in crisis prevention and intervention efforts.**
 * //Managing crises is intimidating.// For many people, there's a great deal of fear and discomfort involved. This may be alleviated with adequate preparation.
 * //It may not be in one's job description//. Administrators can help all school personnel, not only school mental health providers, know how they can provide support in a crisis.
 * //Staff may lack knowledge about crisis intervention//. If people do not know how to prevent and intervene in crisis, they are likely to lack self-confidence and assurance that they can step up to the challenge. School personnel who have assisted in a crisis are much more likely to feel confident, but accessible resources and information help as well.
 * //Past negative experiences can play a role//. If a previous crisis was not handled well or was not properly debriefed, educators may have a negative opinion of their usefulness in crisis intervention. Coordinators can strive to assure that following a crisis, everyone has the opportunity to grow.
 * //Liability issues//. Due to the highly charged nature of crises, by definition, liability becomes a legitimate concern. Personnel may be afraid of doing the "wrong thing." Few school employees are ever subject to legal action following crises, and inaction may be the worst outcome.

Considerations Related to Psychological Trauma


 * There are several considerations to make when considering the prevention and intervention implementations related to crises. //Risk factors// in this area include physical proximity to the crisis event. Physical proximity leads to the greatest risk for traumatic stress reactions. This includes physical closeness to event, requiring medical attention and long or intense exposures to the crisis event. This addresses 'where' the student was. Another risk factor is emotional proximity which has the second highest correlation with traumatic stress risk. Emotional proximity includes having a close relationship with victims, knowing somebody who is emotionally close to the event and being exposed to media reports related to the crisis event. This addresses 'who' the student knew. The final risk factor is personal vulnerabilities which are risk factors that are factors in all situations. Personal vulnerabilities include external vulnerabilities (limited family, social and financial resources) and internal vulnerabilities (coping styles, histroy of mental illness, previous traumatization, emotional regualations and developmental immaturity). //Warning signs// which indicate possible psychological injury including severe crisis reactions and maladaptive coping behaviors.**

//"There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full." -Henry Kissinger//

**Prevention at the Universal, Selected and Indicated Levels**  At the **//universal//** level the main responsibilities include increasing awareness of crisis, describing warning signs to look for and dispelling myths. It is also important to teach responses to peers who may come into contact with somebody who appears psychological injured. These steps and universal prevention programs are specifically important in the prevention of depression and suicidal behaviors. A specific program at this level is Resourceful Adolescent Program (RAP) and the Problem Solving Life Program (PSFL). RAP includes about ten 50-minute sessions based on resilience building with a focus on coping skills. It also incorporates cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy. PSFL is eight 45-50 minute classes focused on cognitive restructuring and problem-solving.

**//Selected//** prevention programs focuses on a sub-population of students who may be more likely to experience negative effects due to the crisis. Screening procedures may be used to identify these students. The strategies may include practicing help-seeking behavior, identifying resources in the community and addressing peer roles.
 * //Indicated//** interventions target children already experiencing symptoms as a result of the crisis. In the case of suicide and depression the program components may include accessing emergency help, identifying a caring adult, understanding psychological disorders and developing and teaching adaptive decision-making strategies that focus on stressful incidents and/or emotional dysregulation.

 **Response at the Selected and Indicated Levels**  It is important to note that not all students and/or staff will require assistance in managing their response to a crisis. Initially exposure to a traumatic event will often lead to crisis reactions, but it is appropriate to expect normal recovery. Providing unneeded assistance may in fact cause harm. Specifically there is a potential for contamination effects in which distressed individuals can have a negative effect on unaffected students.

//Selected Crisis Interventions// include "services offered to moderately to severely traumatized individuals who are having difficulty coping independently with the crisis circumstances" (p.781). Strategies include //psychological education// which provides factual information that helps create an understanding, preparedness and response to crisis events. Psychological education includes classroom based educational lessons and informational bulletins, flyers and handouts. Another strategy is //psychological first aid// which based on the NASP PREPaRE model includes elements of rapport building, identifying and prioritizing crisis problems, identifying and implementing crisis problem-solving options and reviewing progress. Both psychological education and psychological first aid can be presented in individual or group formats. Indicated Crisis Interventions  Include "services provided to the most severely traumatized individuals" ( p.781). Strategies may include cognitive behavioral approaches and anxiety management training. Cognitive behavioral approaches may offer an opportunity for students to feel connected to peers by participating in group delivered activities. Anxiety management training teaches skills to manage anxiety, specifically related to the thoughts of possible reoccurrence of the crisis.
 * 

media type="youtube" key="FH9oBQfo0PQ" height="390" width="640" align="center"



= Crisis Teams =

In order for schools to thouroughly be prepared in the event of a crisis, work towards preventing crises and understanding response strategies a crisis team must be established. The team should receive training in types of crises, systems and procedures used in the even of a crisis and possible mental health needs that may arise.

 ** Roles of Crisis Team Members ** **Crisis team chair—**Convenes scheduled and emergency team meetings, oversees both broad and specific team functions, ensures that the required resources are available to each team member for assigned duties, and communicates with the district-level team. Is often an administrator or designee. **Assistant chair—**Assists the crisis team chair with all functions and substitutes for the chair in the chair's absence.
 * Coordinator of counseling—**Develops mechanisms for ongoing training of crisis team members and other school staff and identifies and establishes liaisons with community resources for staff and student counseling. At the time of a crisis, determines the extent of counseling services needed, mobilizes community resources, and oversees the mental health services provided to students. Must have appropriate counseling and mental health skills and experience.
 * Staff notification coordinator—**Establishes, coordinates, and initiates the telephone tree when school is not in session to contact the crisis team and general school staff, including itinerant, part-time, and paraprofessional staff. Also establishes a plan to rapidly disseminate relevant information to all staff during regular school hours.
 * Communications coordinator—**Conducts all direct in-house communications, screens incoming calls, and maintains a log of telephone calls related to the crisis event. Helps the staff notification coordinator develop a notification protocol for a crisis event that occurs during the schoolday.
 * Media coordinator—**Contacts the media; prepares statements to disseminate to staff, students, parents, and the community; and maintains ongoing contact with police, emergency services, hospital representatives, and the district office to keep information current. Handles all media requests for information and responds after coordinating a response with the media coordinator for the district-level team.
 * Crowd management coordinator—**In collaboration with local police and fire departments, develops and implements plans for crowd management and movement during crises, including any required evacuation plans and security measures. Crowd management plans must anticipate many scenarios, including the need to cordon off areas to preserve physical evidence or to manage increased vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Because of the possibility of actual threats to the physical safety of students, crowd management plans must provide for safe and organized movement of students in a way that minimizes the risk of harm to them under various threats, such as sniper fire.

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/bulletins/schoolcrisis/pg3.html Tips for Keeping the Team Organized and Effective:

1. Safety in numbers- Intervene in groups of two or more.

2. Yell for help...quietly- Summon team members quietly and discreetly as non-essential personnel will add confusion.

3. Who's in charge?- The leader could be the first person on the scene, a person with confidence and competence, or a person who has established rapport with the person in crisis.

4. Follow the leader- The leader must assess the situation, implement the plan, and direct the team members.

5. Practice- Unannounced drills are the most useful practice.

6. Debrief- After the drills, debrief with fellow team members and focus on what went right and wrong.

Ineffective Crisis Counselors: <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Effective Crisis Counselors: <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> LAPC Model: Listen [|Active Listening Skills] Assess <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> [|http://www.vh1.com/video/misc/507107/episode-7-recap-pt-1.jhtml#id=1637415] [|Crisis Event Documents]
 * Need to be a hero
 * Need to be in control
 * Difficulty with tolerating emotional reactions in others
 * Perfectionist
 * Function well in confusing situations
 * Stay calm under stress
 * Confident and assertice
 * Flexible and quick thinking

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> Plan

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> Commit

Empowerment: [|Resiliency Ohio]

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> **National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Resources:** <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> [|Best Practices in School Crisis Prevention and Intervention]

[|School Crisis Prevention and Intervention: The PREPaRE Model] The National Association of School Psychologists created the PREPaRE curriculum to provide resources and training to school personel in the areas of prevention, intervention and response. PREPaRE stands for Prevent Reaffirm Evaluate Provide and Respond Examine. PREPaRE is research based and utilizes the fours crisis phases identified by the United States Department of Education. The phases included prevention, preparedness and response and recovery. It focuses on the mental health implications for students in the case of an incident, while also using prevention techniques. The curriculum utilizes the Incident Command Structure in preparation for collaboration during a crisis event. <span style="background-position: 100% 50%; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 19px; padding-right: 10px; text-align: left;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="background-position: 100% 50%; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 19px; padding-right: 10px; text-align: left;"> [|Additional PREPaRE Resources] [|Identifying Severely Traumatized Children]

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> Strengthening Cultural Sensitivity in Children's Crisis Prevention and Response <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> Schools must realistically assess the likelihood of specific types of crises and then consider the impact of the crises on their students and the community. Addressing the unique cultural characteristics of the students in the community is important when considering crisis prevention and response techniques.**How to overcome barriers to increasing cultural sensitivity:** 1. Providing and delivering services- Many underrepresented groups cope with crises by banding together and often develop a distrust of outside help. School professions should not interpret this distrust as an underlying pathology. Instead, determine the root of the distrust and try to work with it. 2. Addressing distrust- To minimize distrust, it is important to re-establish and empower social support systems. It is often helpful to enlist the help of a "cultural broker", who is someone familiar with, and trusted by individuals from the particular culture to help work with the students. 3. Addressing language and communication barriers- Enlist the help of bilingual and multi-lingual practitioners or professional interpreters and utilize technology like automated telephone services with options of sending messages to parents in several languages. 4. Empowering social support- Reconnect children with the traditions, cultural and spiritual practices that provided the students with support pre-crisis and strengthen relationships with community faith leaders to strengthen resilience.

[|NASP Cultural Competence]

Helpful Links: <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> [|Managing School Crisis][|Special Needs Populations] [|Tips for Parents[[http://islamboxee.com|إسلام, islam , قرآن , علماء , مشايخ , برامج]]]