Families
Within the life cycle of a family, many different crises can occur. The type of crises that occurs can depend on the family, where they are living, the time in which they are living, how religious they are, their class, education and so on and so on. In other words, there are many different factors that affect how a family cope with different situations and whether crises occur.
A crisis is a period of transition in the life of the individual, family or group, presenting individuals with a turning point in their lives, which may be seen as a challenge or a threat, a "make or break" new possibility or risk, a gain or a loss, or both simultaneously. Most crises are part of the normal range of life experiences that most people can expect, and most people will recover from crisis without professional intervention. However, there are crises outside the bounds of a person's everyday experience or coping resources which may require expert help to achieve recovery. A crisis can refer to any situation in which the individual perceives a sudden loss in their ability to problem solve and to cope. These may include natural disasters, sexual assault, criminal victimisation, mental illness, suicidal thoughts, homicide, and a drastic change in relationships and so on.
Therefore, in terms of mental health, a crisis does not necessarily refer to a traumatic situation or event. It is the person’s reaction to an event. One person may be deeply affected by an event, whilst another does not suffer. The Chinese word for crisis presents a good depiction of the components of a crisis, both the positive opportunity for growth or decline and the negative idea of danger. We often think of a crisis as an unexpected disaster, such as car loss and so on, but crisis can vary in their type and severity.
There are many different definitions of crisis –
“an upset in equilibrium at the failure of one’s traditional problem solving approach which results in disorganization, hopelessness, sadness, confusion and panic” (Lillibridge and Klukken, 1978)
“People are in a state of crisis when they face an obstacle to important life goals – and obstacle that is, for a time, insurmountable by the use of customary methods of problem-solving” (Caplan, 1961)
“..crisis is a perception or experience of an event or situation as an intolerable difficulty that exceeds the person’s current resources and coping mechanisms” (James and Gilliland, 2001)
“Crisis. An acute emotional reaction to a powerful stimulus or demand. A state of emotional turmoil. Three characteristics of crisis: The usual balance between thinking and emotions is disturbed; the usual coping mechanisms fail; there is evidence of impairment in the individual or group involved in the crisis” (Jeffrey T. Mitchell, PhD)
Crises in the Life Cycle - Sometimes a crisis is predicted in terms of a predictable part of the life cycle.
Situational Crises – Such as natural disasters, accidents etc.
Existential Crises – Inner conflicts relating to the way we want to live our life, our purpose, spirituality and so on.
Learn more about helping families in crisis with our Family Counselling course. This is a 100 hour distance learning course. Or perhaps consider our Certificate in Child and Youth Counselling.
If you are interested in taking a course, but are not sure exactly what is for you, why not contact us for helpful advice from one of our tutors. Click here to contact us.
