Crisis Management
Referring to the video lecture: how important to crisis response is temperament? What is your temperament and how will that inform your thoughts, feelings and behavior as a social worker managing a client crisis?
Here is a clinical vignette:
Rene, a 26 year old Caucasian woman, single with no children, is a client on your caseload at the Medication Assisted Treatment Program – you are her therapist. She has had a long dramatic relationship with Steve, a brilliant financial services account manager and both of them have been on and off MAT and opioids for 4 years – since they graduated college. “It’s like a soap opera, I admit it it, a real tragic romance novel”). She calls you in a panic (you are between appointments) as Steve fell asleep on his feet (nodded) at the top of the subway stairs, fell and caused a cascade involving 7 other people. An older woman he fell on broke her neck may die – he is in custody on unspecified charges (the term “negligent homicide” was thrown about) and has called her twice from jail where he is slowly descending into withdrawal. “I can’t stand it! He will be so sick, I know what it is like, I feel it myself, like I am withdrawing too, I should just try to get him a pill or just take some myself, I want the fog, the oblivion, I can’t work. This is crazy. I am losing it!” Rene has a history of suicidality and ‘coded’ once in the ER from an intentional OD.
Referring to the SAFE-T material and relying on the video and other resources this week, discuss how you can best respond to this client in the moment, in the short run and in the long run.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK424859/
https://youtu.be/6NpaNwcT_GM
