Crisis can be defined in several ways. It can be a stressful life experience and/or a turning point in a person’s life. Crisis often affects the stability of an individual so that their ability to cope or even function may be seriously compromised or impaired. Crisis is a temporary state of upset, disequilibrium, often accompanied by confusion and disorganization.
This course will prepare Child & Youth Care students to deal with children, youth, and/or their families who are experiencing crises. The focus of the course will be on Crisis Theory and the application of that theory to a wide variety of crisis situations.
This is an advanced level course, in which students will be expected to research various crises and illustrate their knowledge and their findings with fellow students through team teaching, critical thinking, experiential learning, and inter-professional collaboration. The student will pay particular attention to understanding and developing strategies to use with high-risk clients in crisis. An emphasis on the importance of establishing a strong working alliance with high-risk clients (e.g. suicidal) will be presented.
