Counselling
Ambulatory
Support for Offenders
Crisis Resolution Team
Definition of Crisis
A crisis occurs when a person’s usual and customary coping skills are no longer adequate to address a perceived stressful situation. Often such situations are novel and unexpected.
It overrides an individual’s normal psychological and biological coping mechanisms – moving the individual towards maladaptive behaviors, and limits one’s ability to utilize more cognitively sophisticated problem-solving skills and conflict resolution skills.
Background
Crisis resolution was pioneered in the 1970s and in recent decades such teams have been implemented across Australia, North America, Europe, and England.
Key Organizational Characteristics
CRT is not open to people with the following condition/situation:
A crisis occurs when a person’s usual and customary coping skills are no longer adequate to address a perceived stressful situation. Often such situations are novel and unexpected.
It overrides an individual’s normal psychological and biological coping mechanisms – moving the individual towards maladaptive behaviors, and limits one’s ability to utilize more cognitively sophisticated problem-solving skills and conflict resolution skills.
Background
Crisis resolution was pioneered in the 1970s and in recent decades such teams have been implemented across Australia, North America, Europe, and England.
Key Organizational Characteristics
- ‘First point of access’ for people with mental health issues.
- A face-to-face intervention provided by mental health practitioners and peer specialists.
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Benefits of peer specialists’ involvement include
- They who have experienced mental health issues can offer privileged insight and understanding, and draw on their own experiences to help others. The support they give can be an extremely effective complement to support given by mental health professionals.
- They will have increasing levels of self-esteem, confidence and positive feelings and often experience an increase in their own ability to cope mental health problems.
- Efficiency
To address or ameliorate a crisis experience. - Appropriateness
To ensure that people with mental health issues get the right support quickly and in the right setting. - Cost Effectiveness
To reduce unnecessary admission and waiting time at emergency department. - Efficacy
To enhance help-seeking experience.
- Police – they would have time to attend to other cases and get involved only when it is life threatening.
- Hospitals – They could free beds for urgent cases.
- CRT is not an emergency service, the service aims to respond within a 4-hour period, however there may be occasions when this may have to be extended.
- Emergency can be defined as ‘a life threatening situation demanding an immediate response’, should there be an immediate risk to an individual or to others, police assistance should be sought.
CRT is not open to people with the following condition/situation:
- Moderate to severe intellectual disability
- Organic brain disease
- People with mental health issues under the care of forensic psychiatry