Crisis Intervention as Psychological First Aid in Psychiatric Emergency Presentation (PEP)

Abstract

Any demanding event or dangerous condition has a possibility for occasioning a crisis. The event or situation that comes at the end of the series of stressors may be minor making the situation more than the individual can handle. A crisis varies from stress in that a crisis outcomes in a period of unadorned disorganization resulting from the disappointment of individual’s usual coping mechanism or the absence of usual resources or both. Management will depend on the severity and causes of the crisis as well as the individual circumstances of the patient. Many comparatively slight crises can be achieved by providing friendly sustenance in main care deprived of referral. Therapy should be relatively intense over a short period and discontinued before dependence on the therapist develops. The risk of suicide and self-harm must be assessed at presentation and each review. Crisis intervention is a brief type of therapy that may be useful to decrease stress and facilitate the development of external support.