Chapter 5: Crisis Case Handling
Exercise 1- Dealing with Tarasoff.
Suppose you are faced with a terminally ill client with AIDS who is in a great deal of pain. The client indicates to you in a calm, reasonable way that he/she is going to drive out to an isolated spot in a state park, drink a thermos of margaritas, take out her 9 mm automatic, make an audio tape telling her family how much she loves them and how she doesn't want to be a burden on them, and then kill herself. Run a five minute crisis intervention session. Listen to the tape. With the following criteria in mind, how do you feel you did?
-being objective
-your own moral view of AIDS and suicide
-following Tarasoff
Exercise 2- Dealing with a borderline personality disorder
You are dealing with a person with borderline personality disorder who alternately complains that you don’t care anything about him and then loves you to death. He will attempt to manipulate you and if you aren’t going to be manipulated will complain bitterly. After tape recording for five minutes, listen to yourself and see whether you were manipulated into doing something you really didn’t want to do. How do you feel about this person after this short session? If you had to do it over what would you do differently in both role plays?
Exercise 3. “Crisis Intervention in Action” DVD
Watch and critique the scenario depicting the college student with borderline personality disorder on the “Crisis Intervention in Action” DVD.
Questions to answer:
1. How is the client attempting to manipulate the worker?
2. How well is the worker fending off the client’s manipulative ploys? What tactics does he use? Do you think he is successful?
3. How frustrated are you getting with the client? Do you see why these people are sometimes called “vampire clients”?
Exercise 4- Topic for Discussion.
What do you think about law enforcement getting into the mental health business? Take a position, for or against, and defend your position with concrete examples.