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Support

What to do for intervention

  • Discuss suicide openly – normalize the feelings and thoughts.
  • Expand their support system: get friends and family involved.
  • Introduce alternative thinking and options.
  • Act assertively – get medical help if necessary: call 911.
  • Remove access to lethal weapons, methods of self-harm.
  • Contract for no suicide and community care.
  • National suicide hotline is 800-273-TALK

Treatment for Violent and Potentially Violent People

  • Emphasize consequences of acting out behavior—is impulsive, amygdala-driven.
  • Talk directly about options to restrain their hurt, fear, rage, etc.
  • Be concerned about weapons and access to weapons.
  • Make sure you have a way of escape and ongoing physical safety.
  • Never meet alone – make sure someone else is nearby. 
  • Warn police and/or intended victim if necessary.
  • Call 911 if threat is imminent.

Spiritual and Psychological First Aid

When people experience trauma or unexpected loss, it can have a profound and long-term negative impact on a person

  • Depression
  • Destruction
  • Addiction
  • Poor choices 2

These effects can be mitigated by the help of crisis responders

  • Give hope
  • Offer stability
  • Support so that a person does not get stuck or make harmful decisions

Acute Stress Response

Fight, flight or freeze is the physical and psychological reaction to a perceived threat, harmful      event, or dangerous situation

This is the emergency response system common to all mammals and designed by God

This is an unconscious instant reaction

  • Stress hormones are released
  • Blood flow changes to essential functions
  • Prefrontal cortex goes offline so a person has impaired thinking, processing and language skills
  • Amygdala instinctively responds

REM stage sleep is required to recover from trauma

The “alarm” goes off and the body returns to normal typically within 48 hours

Post-traumatic stress disorder may occur if the “alarm” does not turn off after 30 days

  • Stress goes on for too long, and is no longer normal or helpful

Role of the Crisis Responder

Crisis Response

Definition: The compassionate and supportive presence by another person designed to mitigate the acute distress someone feels after a traumatic event

  • Assess and meet needs of the person in crisis
  • Provide essential supportive care
  • Link them with other support systems in the early aftermath of the traumatic event
  • Help spiritually, emotionally, and mentally

What helps people?

  • Do not go in with preconceived notion on how a person should be reacting
  • Do not judge
  • Active listening
  • Practical acts of service