Compassion, Care and Competence in Critical Incident Response

If you are an Crisis Care Network consultant; you may have gone through our training. If so, you are aware that we utilize the ACT approach when performing our interventions in the workplace. The basic tenets of the ACT approach include: Acknowledging the event, and its impact, Communicating information and practical assistance in a compassionate and professional manner, and Transitioning toward the next steps the organization will need to take in the process of recovery and return to fuller functioning. In a previous December 2015 blog entry, we dissected the “A” as it relates to our own comfort level in talking pragmatically about critical incidents. Today, we will take a closer look at what the “C” represents, and how our strengths of being compassionate, caring, and competent, will serve to promote resiliency and recovery following a potentially disruptive incident in the workplace.

Regardless of the degree or licensure a mental health provider holds, chances are that they understand and embody the qualities of compassion and care. One could argue that a person in the helping field must be compassionate and caring, or they would find themselves unemployed. The rapport we build with our clients is of the utmost importance. We build that rapport through the way we communicate with our clients. Facilitating an on-site response is not so different. We want to represent the organization with professionalism, relay information in a kind way, and help employees move towards their individual recovery process. But what about the other “C”? When it comes to communicating information with competence, how difficult is it to feel competent in situations you are not familiar or perhaps uncomfortable with? This can be scary. When situations are not predictable, they can cause distress.

As a mental health provider, it is likely you have had a moment of panic when a client crosses into the “land of the unknown” – an issue you are not comfortable talking about, a situation that hits too close to home, or a diagnosis that you have little experience treating. When this happens, as it does, no matter how ill-equipped you may be feeling on the inside, that part of you that wants to understand and support this individual will allow you to remain calm. Even in the face of something foreign; as professionals, we triumph. The same goes for our on-site interventions. Case in point: While on-site you may not feel like “the expert in oil drilling”, if you are on-site at an oil rig for a workplace accident. Or perhaps you seldom work with clients who have suicidal thoughts, yet are on-site for an employee death by suicide. Even with these new challenges, you are still compassionate and caring. As a consultant, you must remember that you have been in unpredictable situations before, and were able to get through. And you will be equipped with the necessary training and information that will allow you to succeed!

In summary, doing on-site work is not the therapeutic role we are used to in our offices, but still calls upon our level of compassion, and the ability to empathize with human pain, discomfort, and emotional reactions. The on-site interventions are psycho-educational in nature. The employees you will be assisting will need to know that the way they are reacting is something we have heard before and often an expected reaction…and is temporary in most cases. As R3 Continuum Director of Training and Consultant Relations, Dennis Potter, likes to say, “You are there to be a “conduit” of information”. We are focused on immediate care, comfort, stabilization and in rare cases, referral to ongoing EAP services set up by the employer. The role of consultant helps organizations communicate information to their employees that will let the employees know they are cared for; and that the organization is prepared to move forward together. Put nicely in a quote from author, Amit Kalantri, “Ability does catch my attention, but it’s a politeness in a person that I remember”. Even if you do not have full confidence in that moment, while in the midst of a response, remembering to be a human…a caring human…is what people may remember most.

Reference: Kalantri, A., (n.d.). Good Reads: Quotable Quotes. Retrieved January 22, 2016 from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/952856-ability-does-catches-my-attention-but-its-a-politeness-in

About the Author: Clare McCullough is a Licensed Professional Counselor, with a master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from Spring Arbor University. She has predominantly worked in the field of Crisis Intervention, and is currently a telephonic clinician for the Productivity Assurance Call Center at R3 Continuum. She also sees clients for therapy at a private practice in Grand Rapids, MI.