Crisis intervention as a mental health process can be conceptually summarized in terms of crisis focus, crisis definition, development of intervention hypothesis, evaluation of intervention effectiveness, reconsideration of the crisis definition and the intervention hypothesis, formulation of new or modified intervention hypotheses, further evaluation, crisis reduction.  As we can see, the crisis intervention process is reducible to a formula or a series of steps.  Following that formula in actual crises with real people however, requires careful thinking, study, and practice.

Once you have a good feel for and understanding of the crisis intervention process and are oriented to the social interaction model presented here, you are ready to consider the specialized communication skills essential to effective crisis intervention.

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