Crisis Intervention Strategies Flashcards
7 cards from real LMSW practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Crisis Intervention Strategies flashcards as text
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?
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.
Which crisis intervention model emphasizes that crises arise when a person's usual coping mechanisms are overwhelmed and focuses on restoring pre-crisis equilibrium?
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.
During a natural disaster response, a social worker is triaging survivors. Which survivor should receive mental health crisis intervention FIRST?
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.
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?
Answer: Availability of means
In SLAP (Specificity, Lethality, Availability, Proximity to help), 'A' stands for Availability of the means to carry out the plan.
An adolescent discloses being sexually abused by a family member and says, 'Please don't tell anyone.' The LMSW's primary obligation is to:
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.
Which phase of Judith Herman's three-stage trauma recovery model focuses specifically on mourning losses and reconnecting with ordinary life?
Answer: Reconnection
Herman's third stage, Reconnection, involves the survivor rebuilding a life and relationships after processing grief in the Remembrance and Mourning phase.
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:
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.