Seven Stage Model of Crisis Intervention

Research has shown that both children and adults who experience catastrophes show a
wide range of negative reactions. For some, the reactions are mild and include only worries
and unpleasant memories which often fade with the passage of time. However, others are
usually affected more deeply and may experience more long-term problems. Children and
teenagers who experience violence are especially vulnerable to severe long-term problems.
Long after the tragic event, they can still exhibit negative emotional reactions such as fear,
anger, and depression. To avoid such long-term emotional harm and help in quick recovery
from the traumatic event, it is important that they get adequate support from parents, teachers,
and counsellors. The shooting in the library of Jon Q. Public High School must have left
many students traumatized. As a crisis worker, the goal is to help the students to cope with
the emotional effects of the shooting. For this work, the most appropriate model is Robert’s
Seven Stage Model of Crisis Intervention.

As the name suggests, Robert’s Seven Stage Model of Crisis Intervention has seven
stages that clients go through on their way to stabilization and mastery. The first stage
requires the crisis worker to plan and conduct a biopsychosocial and lethality assessment
(Cavaiola & Colford, 2017). This stage involves assessing the environment support and
stressors of the students, medical needs, their coping methods, and coping resources available
to them. With regard to environmental support and stressors, the crisis worker examines how
well the students are supported or not supported by their parents, teachers, and fellow
students. Examination of medical needs will primarily involve students who were injured
during the shootings. As for lethality assessment, the crisis worker will determine if any
student has suicidal thoughts resulting from the shooting incident and the seriousness of those
thoughts.

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The second stage involves making psychological contact and establishing
collaborative relationship with the students (Cavaiola & Colford, 2017). To succeed at this
stage, the crisis worker needs to have a non-judgmental attitude towards the students, be
flexible, maintain eye contact with the students, and have a positive mental attitude. These
traits foster respect and genuineness which are key to the success of the counselling.

The third stage is identifying the major problem or the event that precipitated the
mental, psychological, and physical problems that the client is experiencing (Cavaiola &
Colford, 2017). In the case of the students, the precipitating event was the shooting in the
library that killed two and injured six of their fellow students. Since the shooting affected
students differently, it is important to determine how each student experienced the event in
order to understand the effect that it had on them.

Stage four involves dealing with feelings and emotions. At this stage, the crisis
worker will allow the students to vent and heal (Cavaiola & Colford, 2017). The students will
also be allowed to talk at length about their current situation, including the effect of the
shooting on their lives. During this stage, the crisis worker uses active listening skills, such as
probing, and paraphrasing in order to increase the student’s engagement.

Stage five involves generation and exploration of alternatives. At this stage, the crisis
worker presents various options on the table to help the students cope with the effects of the
traumatic event (Cavaiola & Colford, 2017). For best result, the decision on the option to take
should be arrived at collaboratively. Such an approach promotes the student’s ownership of
the decision made.

Stage six involves implementation of an action plan. Some of the action plans that can
be implemented for students who have gone through a traumatic shooting event include

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reducing sleep loss and anxiety through medication (in acute situations), hospitalization,
establishing future linkage (through scheduling phone calls), and decreasing isolation for the
most affected students who may be at risk of committing suicide, such as mobilizing fellow
students, teachers, and parents to carefully monitor the student (Cavaiola & Colford, 2017).

In the last stage, stage seven, the crisis worker plans for a follow-up with the client
(Cavaiola & Colford, 2017). The goal of the follow-up is to ensure that the client is on the
road to resolving the crisis. With regards to the students affected by the mass shootings,
follow-up activities may include checking the physical condition of the students, assessing
their overall functioning (academic and social life etc.), and their level of satisfaction with the
ongoing intervention.

The Seven Stage Model of Crisis Intervention is a comprehensive crisis response
model that is effective in managing crises resulting from mass shootings in schools. In this
paper, it has been shown how this model can be used to help in the emotional and
psychological recovery of the students who were affected by the mass shooting at Jon Q.
Public High School.

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References

Cavaiola, A. A., & Colford, J. E. (2017). Crisis Intervention: A Practical Guide. SAGE
Publications.