Have you ever gotten lost or overwhelmed when serving a client?
Clients can come to the Center:
- With very complex problems
- Very abortion-minded
- With overwhelming circumstances
- English as their second language
- Very emotional
- Closed-down and not saying very much
Often when presented with these situations it is easy to feel overwhelmed and a little lost as to how to proceed. When feeling out of control we tend to jump too quickly to solutions and rush the process. It is at this point we need to pull out our navigation tool – Fundamental #7: The Steps to Crisis Intervention otherwise known as MR FEEF.
How does our navigational tool, MR FEEF, help us in these situations?
The Steps to Crisis Intervention reminds us:
- to slow down . . . and breathe
- that there is a path forward if we follow the road map
- we must listen and validate feelings before offering solutions
- we must earn the right to ask deep questions
- connecting comes before giving advice or solutions
- we can’t solve all the problems a client might share with us
- creates good boundaries
- the decisions is hers to make, we are here to help her think it through
- there is a purposeful order to the steps to crisis intervention
- when we spend most of our time on the first two steps the rest of the steps are easier to climb
In other words, it gives us a way forward, a reminder of the skills we need to use to climb the steps to crisis intervention. MR FEEF reminds us to work and pray towards connecting with our client no matter what she brings into the session. It is not about whether we finish climbing all the steps with each client. It’s about climbing the most important steps well (make contact & reduce anxiety) to earn the right to move up to the next steps.
It’s like having a flashlight or lantern to light the way when we are fumbling around in the dark.
How well are your volunteers utilizing the steps to crisis intervention?
Remind them of the road map they have to help them when they are with a client and find themselves overwhelmed, lost and fumbling in the dark.
