According to Kristi Kanel (1997), the definition and understanding of crisis takes three perceptions: an individual’s failure to cope with issues normally; an advancing event and also perception of a situation that ultimately results to biased stress. Crisis thereby causes an individual undergoing the precipitating event be subject of general under performance or lower activity levels than usual.
A crisis counselor helps person(s) undergoing the precipitating event effectively cope with the normal behavior. Caplan’s seven characteristics of effective coping behavior (Kanel 1997) outline the helpful attributes of a crisis counselor. A crisis worker should have self-awareness; exploring information and issues all round. The crisis counselor should also be non-judgmental in expressing oneself and also be tolerant in frustrating moments. He or she should also breakdown issues into bits that are manageable while solving them systematically. Flexibility is an attribute that is required of crisis counselors. As such, the individual should master the feelings of a client and be willing to flow with the direction of the situation at hand.
Individuals practicing crisis counseling should also have self-control no matter the situation. Tolerance and the nonreactive virtue should also be upheld so as to avoid stress and cause emotions that would otherwise create a non-conducive environment for the counseling session. Trust is also another characteristic required in crisis counseling.
`In crisis situations, I need to work on my judgmental issues. I need to develop a non-judgmental perception of the cases that might come my way. Judging someone might lead to making irrational conclusions and solutions on the issues raised. It is important to perceive an individual’s problems as one’s own so as to find the right and long lasting solution to an issue.
Reference
Kanel, K. (1999). What is a Crisis? In A guide to crisis intervention. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole.
