Linda L. Black - Crisis, Trauma, and Disaster: A Clinician′s Guide

A Clinicians Guide

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Allen J. Ottens, PhD

Professor Emeritus

Northern Illinois University

While I was putting these words to paper, the announcement came over the local news that the automobile assembly plant near where I live would soon eliminate an entire shift of workers. I morosely considered the consequences for the soon-to-be unemployed workers, the crises facing the financially strapped families, and the rippling impact on the larger community. Add one more to the expanding list of crises and disaster sweeping through society: devastating natural calamities (fires, floods) fueled by climate change, an epidemic of narcotic addictions (and fatal overdoses), and growing animosity directed toward racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, just to name three.

If there is any silver lining in that dire picture, it might be that crisis may be viewed in various ways, but most definitions emphasize that it can be a turning point in a persons life (Yeager & Roberts, 2015, p. 13). But helping distressed individuals and families to plot courses to arrive at those turning points (e.g., retraining, relocating, rethinking, rededicating, renewing) requires a cadre of helping professionals (psychologists, counselors, social workers, psychiatric nurses) who have the training and skills to intervene effectively. Crisis, Trauma, and Disaster by Linda Lutisha Black and Stephen V. Flynn can now be added to the arsenal of training materials to equip these professionals. Moreover, one of the features that makes Crisis, Trauma, and Disaster an important addition is its sweeping coverage of knowledge, skills, and techniques designed to mitigate the impact of crisis and trauma that are applicable for students-in-training as well as seasoned clinicians.

The authors impart a full spectrum of perspectives from various theoretical approaches, sharing knowledge and insights from generations of leaders in the crisis intervention field. Coverage extends from understanding in what ways deleterious events affect physiological functioning to how crises are experienced across the lifespan. The authors address intervention skills needed to implement change across affective, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions with individual clients, as well as the skill of advocacy, whereby the clinician works toward environmental changes on behalf of a particular client or class of clients. Techniques receiving focus include steps for applying psychological first aid as well as selecting and administering the Mental Status Exam (MSE) and a variety of triage assessment instruments.

Besides the expected heavy emphases on knowledge, skills, and techniques, the authors should be commended for taking a firm stance on the importance of clinicians being self-aware of their assumptions, intentions, and self-talk. Constant self-examination is a must for the crisis worker as well as supervision as needed to address blind spots and to provide feedback. The person of the helping professional is the primary tool in crisis intervention and success in this endeavor requires that the professional exhibit certain essential characteristics (Ottens, Pender, & Nyhof, 2009). Black and Flynn present stimulus questions and exercises geared to help the reader to concretize, synthesize, and personalize the chapter material. Finally, the reader will find a rich and up-to-date compendium of resources for further information, referral sources, and related texts.

With the seemingly ever-increasing prevalence of acute crisis events (e.g., violence, catastrophic illnesses, community disaster), Crisis, Trauma, and Disaster helps equip practitioners with the knowledge, skills, techniques, and resources to assess clients needs, develop a plan of action, and strengthen their capacity to cope. Crisis, Trauma, and Disaster should rightly find its place on the bookshelves of those who provide crisis intervention services.