When words seem so shallow, the strength of your presence and your support slows the emotional bleeding. Nothing will ever completely heal the lose the family, friends and other survivors are experiencing. All we can do is metaphorically cry with them.
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Suicide is not only unexpected it is unanticipated. While a fatal car accident or a sudden heart attack is unexpected, it is something that it thought of as can or might happen. Suicide is not something people consider as a might happen. Suicide leads those left behind to think something could have been done to prevent it. Suicide doesn’t just happen. Suicide is a mental progression which presents symptoms, but unlike a cold or the flu, most people don’t recognize the symptoms.
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In almost all crisis situations, the scene activity is localized to a defined area and out of public view. A traffic fatality immediately becomes a public event. For the responder the “customer” base expands exponentially.
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As a crisis responder, you become somewhat conditioned to NOT think with your heart. Dealing with a child or senior abuse situation will tax that concept to the maximum. Not dissimilar to Domestic Violence, responders will be dealing with conflicting points of view. The abused is coming from a point of fear of losing what they know is their only support system. While the abuser will confess to feelings of frustration and being at the “end of their wits”.
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STOP! Before proceeding think about what one emotion would make you feel the most uncomfortable: fear, anger, embarrassment, mistrust, confusion, being violated. Now put yourself in the place of someone who has been sexually assaulted…. they are hurting as a result of all those emotions at once. Approach these calls with that in mind.
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Crisis care providers may be dealing with two conflicting emotional points of view when responding to a Domestic Violence call. It is critical to initially consult with on scene law enforcement and confirm that they will remain on scene until you have time to assess the situation. The first question to ask is where is the initiator of the violence?
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Confusion, fear, grief and shock flood a homeowner’s family as fire trucks lights flashing and siren blaring come down the street, in response to a fire in their home.
The complexities involved in a crisis responder’s job is increased with a working residential fire. The crisis responder must anticipate not only emotional issues associated with most calls but also the physical needs of the crisis clients have to be addressed. Only imagine how the task is increased significantly if the fire involves a multi-housing property.
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Responding to a crisis call which involves a patient being transported to or already at a hospital is most difficult. There are so many variables that dictate what steps are to be taken initially.
Timing dictates the crisis responders first reactions to a situation when a patient becomes involved with a hospital. If flexibility is a byword of crisis response, a call involving a patient in or being transported to the hospital is the hallmark.
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As a crisis responder perhaps the most emotional situation you will experience will be the death of a child or infant. Whether natural or accident, the death is most usually unexpected.
The relative innocence of the child and tragedy experienced by the adults compounds the experience. Many of the participants including first responders and law enforcement can very easily relate to the sorrow being felt by the child’s parents and relatives…many have children of their own.
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If a death occupies or is pronounced in the presence of a doctor or authorized medical staff, the death is termed as attended. By definition then, a death occurring within the home or without the presence of a doctor or medical staff is unattended.
Unattended death situations always require some law enforcement involvement. The police have the job of actually establishing whether the death involves any foul play. In conducting an investigation, the police have to be very consistent even when looking into routine matters. Under the conditions of stress, crisis clients may become defensive and offended at the matter of fact tone of the questions being presented. In the event law enforcement has to appear in court for any reason they must be able to say that they handled every aspect of the scene identical to all others.
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