Crisis Intervention - History

History

Programs designed to deal with human crises have existed for many years extending back to the early 1900’s. At least as far back as the 1700’s, and coming forward, we knew of post traumatic stress conditions and referred to them by such names as, “Soldier’s Heart,” “Combat Fatigue,””Combat Exhaustion,” and similar monikers. As a result of unusually high stress brought on by certain events that may occur without warning and in a sudden fashion, a person may experience an inability to cope with life in the way he or she would under more normal conditions. Rape, natural disasters, domestic disputes, suicide, shootings, loss of life, death of children, man-made disasters and the like can each produce sufficient stress to create a crisis. Interested groups, lay persons, helping professionals and crisis oriented- agencies have sprung up to offer assistance in such situations.

Early studies of the victims of man-made disasters and families affected by wartime deaths set the stage for what has been emerging as the modern discipline of Crisis Intervention, or Crisis Management. As techniques developed, they were applied to many diverse fields, including law enforcement, penology, social service, business, religion and nursing. Many definitions of Crisis Intervention appeared and, as the term gained professional acceptance, books and papers were written under this popular heading, covering topics from psychotherapeutic techniques to short term therapy. Yet Crisis Intervention was regarded as the stepchild to all other helping disciplines, such as sociology, psychology, and psychiatry, while having little or no fixed and recognized place of its own. Few academic institutions addressed this particular area separately, and it was seen as part of some larger psychotherapeutic or counseling concern. It was thought that good counselors also made good crisis interveners; those who could handle day-to-day counseling sessions were assumed able to be quite capable of intervening in emergencies and severe stress-related incidents.

It became increasing clear that psychotherapeutic experience does not in itself supply Crisis Intervention expertise. In order to fully understand crises and intervention into such situations, specific definitions, procedures and training are essential. In short, Crisis Management must be recognized as a professional discipline with a tradition, a definite place in today’s professional and paraprofessional community and a future within the overall health care system. It must have its own professionals, organizations, training academies, certifications, journals, and recognition to allow its development as a significant and viable scientific entity.

A complete history of the movement is an important subject for another book. (Greenstone and Leviton, 1981). However, there is an importance in discussing briefly the genesis of the decision by this author to spend forty plus years doing the groundwork necessary to help establish Crisis Intervention as a discipline.

In 1969, The Southern Indiana Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews began a project in Louisville. Kentucky designed to provide training in community relations and Crisis Intervention. As it developed, the project gave professionals, paraprofessionals and nonprofessionals training and experience in techniques of Crisis Management that could prevent serious emotional upsets from becoming disastrous to the people involved. Three years later an offshoot of this initial program was established to show that Crisis Intervention procedures and principles could be applied to any crisis situation. For example, the methods used by police officers could be employed by crisis center counselors. The major proponents of this interdisciplinary approach were Dr. Edward S. Rosenbluh and Dr. James L. Greenstone, who began piecing it together in 1963 while at the University of Oklahoma; Lieutenant James E. Oney of the Louisville Division of Police; and Dr. Kent A. Rensin, a former police officer and high school administrator.

From these beginnings, the National Institute for Training in Crisis Intervention emerged. There, on a regularly scheduled basis students of Crisis Management, regardless of professional credentials, could receive specific and expert training. The National Institute laid the groundwork in 1976 for the formation of the American Academy of Crisis Interveners, which served as the first national attempt to unify and organize the field of Crisis Intervention. Crisis workers in all settings could identify with their own organization rather than being subsumed as part of another group. The Southwestern Academy of Crisis Interveners formed in 1978 with Dr. Sharon C. Leviton as its executive director. The Southeastern Academy formed shortly afterward by Dr. W. Rodney Fowler, Former Professor Emeritus and Head of Graduate Programs in Counseling at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Subsequently, the National Training Conference for Crisis Intervention developed and offered graduated levels of training. Following the introduction of basic, intermediate, an advanced levels of Crisis Management training, a certification program was established to allow any crisis worker who qualified to be certified within his/her own discipline. All training adhered to the interdisciplinary concept that permits not only the needed social interaction among agencies, but also the sharing of their skills to the mutual benefit of all. To further these efforts again, the American Board of Examiners in Crisis Intervention was formed in 1980. Dr. James L. Greenstone served as the Chairman of that body.

The alliance in 2002 of The American College of Forensic Examiners International (ACEFI) and the American Board of Examiners in Crisis Intervention (ABECI) was welcomed by those of us who have labored for years to advance Crisis Intervention as a discipline of its own.

How do we know if we are there yet? Certification is certainly one marker of accomplishment and success. To have passed the written, the oral, and the practical portions of the exam along with submitting an original paper suitable for publication is an accomplishment. Other markers include participating in ongoing team training, studying, publishing, and taking personal responsibility for being prepared physically and emotionally to intervene. Being aware and being prepared speaks to how seriously an intervener takes his/her profession. We can learn from the past and move forward with vigor. It is very hard to know where you are going, however, if you do not know from whence you come. (Greenstone and Leviton, 1981 and 2010).