The document outlines the crisis intervention model proposed by Lydia Rapoport, highlighting her contributions as a social case worker and educator. Rapoport classified crises into three categories and introduced a systematic approach to crisis intervention with nine key steps, aiming to stabilize family functions and empower individuals to cope with their situations. Her model emphasizes the importance of understanding the precipitating events, assessing strengths, and formulating treatment plans to achieve effective intervention.

1. A presentation on the crisis intervention
model proposed by Lydia Rapoport
presented by
Jins Joseph
I msw

2. 1. INTRODUCTION
Lydia Rapoport was a social case worker, professor
and an advocate of social change.
The current treatment in social casework is the
contribution made by her through her lifetime.
She was born in Vienna on March 8, 1923 as the
daughter of Eugenia Margulies and Samuel
Rapoport.
 She received a master’s degree from smith college
graduate school of social work at the age of twenty
one.

3. She worked as a caseworker in Chicago and later as a
supervisor at the Jewish children’s bureau and also at
Michael Reese hospital.
 She received training in working with emotionally
disturbed children, receiving a certificate in child
therapy from the Institute of Psychoanalysis.
Crisis intervention is an emergency psychological care.
It aims at assisting individuals in a crisis situation to
restore their balance and to minimize the psychological
trauma.
Crisis can be called as experiencing of an event or
situation as intolerable and which affects the person’s
resources and the coping mechanisms (complete
functioning)

4. 2. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF CRISIS
 Though crisis is situational it can be identified by looking at the
characteristic features. This characteristics helps in defining and
identifying crisis. They are as follows.
 It will be a threatening event.
 The person will be unable to modify or reduce the impact of those
stressful events.
 The person also experiences increased rate of fear, tension and
confusion attached to the situation.
 The individual also comes across high level of discomfort.
 The individual faces Inability to maintain a balance that the he falls into
an active state of crisis.

5. 3. THE CLASSIFICATION OF CRISIS
Gerald capelin pioneered the concept of crisis intervention in
social work.
He famously told that crisis is a situation in which the
individuals are confronted with problems that cannot be
solved by them. Thus these events increase the tension,
anxiety, emotional unrest and the inability to live a happy life
after that.
Rapoport revised the short-term crisis intervention therapy
proposed by capelin and introduced the crisis intervention
techniques for giving better support to those individuals.
Rapoport proposed a systematic approach to deal with crisis
situation by proposing the intervention strategies.
She classified crisis into three different categories and they
are as follows.

6. 3.1 Development crisis
This is a situation which occurs as the result of the
normal psycho social transition.
 Development is an unending process in the lifespan of
any individual and it is inevitable for the better
functioning of the individual.
 Some of these developmental changes that happen at
different stages of life cause a psychological difficulty in
people.
These can be mentioned as middle age crisis, identity
crisis in the adolescent period etc. though this is a
biological transition it affects the whole of individual.

7. 3.2 Crisis of role transition
This is a situation that occurs as the result of the
role changes of the developmental stage.
 The role transition becomes a crisis, when the
individual is not able to adapt with the changes of
the responsibilities of each stage.
The main roles we play in like as a child, youth,
marriage, middle age, old age etc has got different
roles to do.
The inability to adapt these roles encircles the
individual with crisis.

8. 3.3 Accidental crisis or termed hazardous
events
This can happen in two levels like on individual
level or the societal level.
The individual crisis is a situation in which the client
looses the abilities like coping skills, self esteem,
social support and power to do things.
This can be situations in which a person is making
suicidal threats, experiencing threats, witnessing
homicide or suicide or meeting with loss etc.

9. In the individual level the person can be
helped by providing counseling and other helps.
Societal crisis is a situation which affects the
whole society as a result of a natural calamity or
by accidents.
Here society as a whole faces the crisis which
is above the personal level.

10. 4. THE GOALS OF CRISIS INTERVENTION
As proposed by Lydia Rapoport, crisis intervention is guided by
six primary goals, which aims at stabilizing and strengthening
the family functioning. These goals are as follows.
Relieve the acute symptoms of family stress.
Restore the family and family members to the best possible
pre-crisis levels of functioning.
Identify and understand the relevant precipitating events.
Identify remedial measures that the family can take or that
community resources can provide to find remedy for the crisis
situation.
Establish a connection between the family’s current stressful
situation and past experiences.

11. Initiate the family’s development for new ways of
perceiving, thinking, feeling and adaptive coping
responses for future use.
Since crisis intervention is limited with time an attempt
to achieve too many goals leads to disappointment and
the failure of the attempt.
Clients should be encouraged to widen their resources
or abilities as they cannot be expected to go in too
many directions or too far beyond their basic abilities.
It is better to help the clients to view their life as a
practice field where they practice repetitively to
accomplish a goal.
They can also be guided to look to their life like a
building, where each building block has to be placed on
top of the other to complete the construction.

12. 5. CRISIS INTERVENTION MODEL OF
RAPAPORT
 Rapoport proposed nine steps for better crisis intervention. Each
step follows the other and helps the intervener to provide a good
result.
 5.1. Rapidly establish a constructive relationship
 The primary duty of the crisis worker is to exhibit sincerity, respect
and sensitivity to the feelings and environment of the client.
 Crisis workers must listen and observe the client for long periods of
time to provide them with better help.
 As Puyear states in his book Helping People in Crisis, Active
listening entails listening for the latent, underlying, coded message
and then checking to see if you have received it correctly.

13. Active listening gives to the clients a chance to develop their
own strengths.
By assuming that clients are motivated they are supported in
thinking of the solutions for their own problems, which enhances
their self-respect.
Rapport is enhanced by showing respect and unconditional
positive regard for the clients. Crisis workers need to start with
the assumption that people are basically good.
5.2. Elicit, Encourage Expression of Painful Feelings and
Emotions
Anger, frustration and feelings related to the current crisis are
the focus of intervention rather than issues in the past.
 Linkages to past crises, repetitive and ineffective responses to
problems can be explored at a later time.

14.  5.3. Discuss the Precipitating Event
 After a rapport is been established the focus must turn to the family
perceptions of the situation.
 The chain of events leading up to the crisis and the problem that set
off the chain of events can be this.
 The Discussions about when and how the crisis occurred,
contributing circumstances and how the family attempted to deal with
it will help in knowing the situation better.
 5.4. Assess the Strengths and Needs
 Family assessment of strengths and needs begins immediately and
continues throughout the crisis intervention.
 The crisis worker draws conclusions regarding the family’s strengths
and needs related to the current crisis and with the help of family an
evaluation is made for potential recovery.
 The strengths of the client are tapped to improve self-esteem, while
also providing energy and skills for problem-solving.

15. 5.5. Formulate a Dynamic Explanation
This step looks for an explanation about why the crisis has
happened. This is the core of the crisis problem.
The meaning of the crisis and its circumstances as seen by
the clients are explored here.
 Mainly discussed matter here will be why do they ascribe
that meaning or perceive it as they do.
5.6. Restore Cognitive Functioning
In this step, the crisis worker helps the family to identify
alternatives for resolving the crisis.
The family is motivated to have reasonable solutions
towards the problems.

16. 5.7. Plan and Implement Treatment
The crisis worker assists the family in the formulation of short
and long term goals, objectives and action steps based on what
the family chooses as its priority.
 With a concrete plan of action the family feels less helpless,
more in control, allowing members to focus on action steps.
Objectives and action steps need to be simple and easy at first,
assuring the client a successful session.
The family members are responsible for action steps or
homework but the crisis worker continues to counsel them,
seeks to help in finding appropriate resources in the community
and becomes the advocate of the family.

17. 5.8. Terminate
Termination occurs when the family achieves its stability as
before the crisis.
Crisis workers review with the family the events, responses and
the newly learned coping skills that can be applied in the future.
 The crisis worker assures that the family is scheduled for
meetings, and ongoing community services.
5.9. Follow-up
Crisis workers arranges continuing contacts with families and
referral sources on predetermined dates.
This puts appropriate pressure on families to continue to work
on issues in a positive way.

18. 6. CONCLUSION
 The crisis intervention model proposed by Lydia Rapoport gained
much attention because it had a relevancy on the situation.
 Her model was an example of defining crisis and some techniques
provided to help the person to overcome the crisis.
 The crisis worker had to be given much attention because his duty
is to understand the events that caused imbalance in the client and
help the client to restore happiness and stability.
 The crisis worker has no authority to make a judgment over
situation rather feeling one with the client.
 The process aims at achieving relief, restoration of happiness or
balance, understanding the problem and empowering the
individual to face it even in future with courage and at last to
provide a remedial measure knowing why the crisis aroused.

19. In her brief lifetime Rapoport added much to the current
theory and knowledge on crisis intervention, community
mental health consultation, social work education and
international family planning.
A collection of her works ‘Creativity in Social Work’ was
published in 1975. Her friends established the Lydia
Rapoport Endowment Fund at the Smith College
School of Social Work, which supports the Lydia
Rapoport Distinguished Visiting Professorship.

20. 7. REFERENCE
• https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/rapoport
-lydia
• https://cindylellis.wordpress.com/crisis/crisis-
intervention-goals-and-steps
• Class notes given by Ms. Monali Awati, Asst.
Professor, Don Bosco Arts and science College,
Angadikadavu.

21. THANK YOU