The Thompson School District recognized after the Columbine incident in the spring of 1999 that it was lacking an adequate plan for crisis response. Colorado legislation led to a mandate for having a crisis response plan so the district purchased a "canned" crisis response plan that served the needs of response in a very immediate but…

Background: Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) and legal involvement are a unique population with complex needs. To date, there has been limited research exploring the demographic and clinical profiles of individuals with ID and legal involvement that are in crisis and how they differ to individuals with ID without legal involvement.…

The present study focuses on the effectiveness of interactions with callers to a helpline as perceived by the helpline volunteers. Applying a qualitative methodology, we analysed 12 descriptions of what the volunteers considered to be the most helpful calls they could reconstruct from memory, and the factors they attributed to the successful…

We investigated agency directors' perspectives about how service goals should be prioritized for domestic violence and sexual assault service subtypes, including crisis, legal advocacy, medical advocacy, counseling, support group, and shelter services. A sample of 97 (94% response rate) North Carolina domestic violence and/or sexual assault agency…

This article integrates the guidelines of American Red Cross and the "Psychological First Aid: Field Operations Guide" (Brymer et al., 2006) with adult development theories to demonstrate the promotion of adaptive functioning in adults after a disaster. Case examples and recommendations for counselors working in disaster situations are…

Imagine what is required to meet the immediate needs of people who have experienced loss from a major disaster such as a flood, hurricane, tsunami, earthquake, or wildfire. When such events occur in the United States or its territories, the American Red Cross starts a Disaster Response Operation, and mental health is always a component in the…

The challenging context of social work interventions require that most intervention studies will be derived from nonexperimental research designs. Two evaluation studies in this special issue employed nonrandomized designs to examine the efficacy of two programs--a police crisis intervention team designed to enhance officers' responses to mental…

Purpose: Although declines in memory and attention are hallmark symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD), noncognitive symptoms are prevalent. Over 80% of individuals will experience neuropsychiatric symptoms, which complicates symptom profiles. Research indicates a community-integrated response to dementia crisis can reduce negative consequences…

A considerable amount of literature points to the criticality of implementing prevention and intervention strategies to address suicide in the context of schools. The authors address these elements along with a case study to increase student safety in schools.

Historically, the Palm Springs Unified School District (PSUSD) in Palm Springs, California, has made it a priority to provide preventive services to students and their families. It was this priority that motivated the district's administration to pursue additional training in crisis prevention and response. It was, and is, their belief that the…

Crisis intervention group work is routinely provided to those that have been exposed to potentially traumatizing events. The Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) has been identified as a standard format for conducting crisis groups, yet the intervention is highly debated in the literature. This article reviews the status of that debate,…

The fall 2009 campaign to vaccinate high-risk U.S. residents against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus presented three key challenges that had significant impact on the effectiveness of campaigns conducted by local health departments (LHDs), schools, and other community partners. These issues included those of communication and trust, both between…

This article describes a unique use of social workers as crisis response team (CRT) members in a nontraditional host setting, municipal fire departments in Arizona. The role of modern-day firefighters has changed dramatically and now includes responding to a wide variety of crises and emergencies other than fires, such as motor vehicle accidents,…

Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) were developed to enable law enforcement officers to effectively and compassionately respond to calls involving people experiencing psychiatric distress. Mental health professionals responsible for training CIT officers are in a unique position to promote the compassionate treatment of those experiencing psychiatric…

Background: The literature regarding the use of restraint and seclusion in schools is scant, perhaps due to the controversial nature of the topic. With few exceptions, schools have not published policies or data regarding these procedures even when doing so would further the discussion about standards for staff training, student safety, and…