The current situation in the world results in the fact that many people suffer from a crisis. Since it implies an adverse impact, many individuals can require professional assistance, and crisis counseling fits this purpose. According to Chapter 7 (n.d.), stress, trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and coping are elements of such counseling sessions. Stress occurs when people believe that they are unable to withstand the mental pressure of the situation. Simultaneously, trauma is a single event that has adversely affected individuals, subjecting them to short and long-term consequences.
For example, some traumas can result in the fact that a person starts experiencing depression symptoms. In this case, it is believed that the individual has PTSD. The good news is that people can mitigate the adverse impact of these challenges, and it is possible if they have appropriate coping skills. Thus, the reading has helped me to learn that various life events can bring negative consequences, and it is necessary to know how to address them.
When adverse events affect people, they can consider committing suicide. That is why social workers should be aware of effective instruments to assess suicide ideation in patients. According to Chapter 7 (n.d.), IS PATH WARM is a helpful tool to cope with this task. In particular, this mnemonic is an acronym that stands for ten risk factors that maximize a person’s vulnerability to suicidal thoughts and actions.
This tool can be deciphered as Ideation, Substance abuse, Purposelessness, Anxiety, Trapped, Hopeless, Withdrawal, Anger, Reckless, and Mood change. The more risk factors affect a person, the more subject they are to committing suicide. That is why it is possible to state that IS PATH WARM is a helpful tool because it measures whether multiple problems influence an individual. Every counselor should apply this instrument to determine whether patients are at risk of committing suicide.
Reference
Chapter 7. (n.d.). Crisis prevention and intervention.