LMSW Crisis Intervention Strategies 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client calls a crisis hotline stating they have a loaded gun and are considering using it. Which action should the social worker prioritize FIRST?
- Schedule an emergency appointment for the next day
- Ask the client to remove the gun from their immediate access (Correct answer)
- Notify the client's family without their consent
- Recommend the client watch calming videos online
Correct answer: Ask the client to remove the gun from their immediate access
Means restriction—asking the client to create physical distance from a lethal means—is an evidence-based step that reduces impulsive suicide attempts.
Question 2: Which crisis intervention model emphasizes that crises arise when a person's usual coping mechanisms are overwhelmed and focuses on restoring pre-crisis equilibrium?
- Trauma-informed care model
- Equilibrium model by Caplan (Correct answer)
- Solution-focused brief therapy
- Dialectical behavior therapy
Correct answer: Equilibrium model by Caplan
Caplan's equilibrium model views crisis as a state of disequilibrium and aims to help clients return to their pre-crisis level of functioning.
Question 3: During a natural disaster response, a social worker is triaging survivors. Which survivor should receive mental health crisis intervention FIRST?
- A teenager crying quietly but oriented to place and time
- An elderly man who is mute, staring blankly, and unresponsive to his name (Correct answer)
- A woman loudly expressing anger about losing her belongings
- A child asking repeatedly for her mother who is present nearby
Correct answer: An elderly man who is mute, staring blankly, and unresponsive to his name
Dissociative unresponsiveness (psychological numbing/freeze) signals acute traumatic stress requiring immediate stabilization.
Question 4: A social worker using the SLAP assessment discovers a client has a plan to overdose on medications tonight. What does the 'A' in SLAP stand for?
- Affect
- Availability of means (Correct answer)
- Agency support
- Anxiety level
Correct answer: Availability of means
In SLAP (Specificity, Lethality, Availability, Proximity to help), 'A' stands for Availability of the means to carry out the plan.
Question 5: An adolescent discloses being sexually abused by a family member and says, 'Please don't tell anyone.' The LMSW's primary obligation is to:
- Honor the client's confidentiality to preserve the therapeutic alliance
- Report to child protective services immediately as mandated by law (Correct answer)
- Consult with a supervisor before taking any action
- Encourage the adolescent to tell a trusted adult themselves
Correct answer: Report to child protective services immediately as mandated by law
Mandated reporter laws require social workers to report known or suspected child abuse regardless of client confidentiality.
Question 6: Which phase of Judith Herman's three-stage trauma recovery model focuses specifically on mourning losses and reconnecting with ordinary life?
- Safety
- Remembrance and mourning
- Reconnection (Correct answer)
- Stabilization
Correct answer: Reconnection
Herman's third stage, Reconnection, involves the survivor rebuilding a life and relationships after processing grief in the Remembrance and Mourning phase.
Question 7: A social worker receives a call from a person who says, 'I'm not going to do anything, but I just want to know how many pills it would take.' The BEST initial response is to:
- Provide general safety information about medication overdose
- Treat the inquiry as a covert expression of suicidal ideation and conduct a full risk assessment (Correct answer)
- Refer the caller to a pharmacist for medication questions
- End the call because no direct threat was made
Correct answer: Treat the inquiry as a covert expression of suicidal ideation and conduct a full risk assessment
Requests for lethal dose information are clinically recognized as indirect expressions of suicidal intent and warrant immediate risk assessment.
LMSW Crisis Intervention Strategies 2
A client calls a crisis hotline stating they have a loaded gun and are considering using it.
Which action should the social worker prioritize FIRST?