Everyday life is full of ups and downs that impact our thinking, emotions, and behaviors. Adolescence is a challenging time that can be fraught with turmoil. Simply put, teens feel their feelings more intensely than adults and have more difficulty regulating powerful emotions, which can often lead to a crisis. Crises can develop and escalate quickly, resulting in the need for crisis intervention services to prevent self-harm, suicidal thoughts or attempts, or harm to others.
Imagine Nampa offers teen intervention services in Idaho for adolescents between 12 and 17. Our certified behavior therapists and mental health workers are highly skilled at providing a thorough assessment to identify the underlying issues and develop a treatment plan to address your child’s unique needs and circ*mstances. If your teen is experiencing a crisis, do not delay reaching out for help. Contact our team at 208.203.8574 to learn about our crisis intervention services and teen mental health programs.
What Are Crisis Interventions?
A crisis is any situation that causes an individual to lose their ability to effectively use problem-solving or coping skills to manage their thoughts, emotions, or behaviors. Crisis interventions refer to the methods used to provide urgent, short-term care that helps stop the downward spiral of dysfunction and return them to their prior level of pre-crisis functioning.
What Triggers a Crisis in Teenagers?
Because each of us is unique, there is almost no end to the possible events or circ*mstances that can trigger a crisis. Indeed, any traumatic event that either is or can be perceived as life-threatening is a potential trigger. Examples can include:
- Natural disasters
- Being the victim of a crime
- Mental health disorders
- Medical illness
- Serious injuries
- Chronic stress
- Trauma
- Sexual, physical, or emotional abuse
Teenagers often encounter potential triggers that are distinctive to their age group, including, but not limited to:
- Peer pressure
- Bullying
- Parental neglect or abuse
- Divorce, separation, or other family issues
- Pressure to perform in sports or academics
- Identity issues, including gender identity or sexuality
- Safety issues, such as school shootings
Relationship issues, grief surrounding the death of a friend or family member, loss of friendships, anxiety, depression, and feeling isolated or generally misunderstood can also result in the need for crisis interventions.
What Is the Goal of Crisis Intervention?
The initial goal of crisis intervention is to provide stabilization of symptoms. This is particularly true when the person in crisis engages in self-harm or is in danger of harming themselves or others.
Other goals of crisis intervention include:
- Identifying the main problems, including what precipitated the crisis
- Reducing the intensity of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors related to the crisis
- Fostering the return of pre-crisis functioning
- Teaching emotional self-regulation
- Promoting the development of coping and problem-solving skills
- Teaching prevention strategies for self-harm
- Building self-awareness and self-confidence
Through crisis intervention services, teens can learn to eliminate maladaptive coping skills such as substance abuse, isolation, and withdrawal from friends and family. They can also learn anger management skills and relapse prevention. Teens and parents need to understand that crisis intervention is not the end-all answer but the first step in stabilizing emotions and behaviors so teens are ready to identify and address the underlying roots of their issues and challenges.
Contact Imagine Nampa for Teen Crisis Intervention Services
Imagine Nampa provides crisis intervention and teen mental health programs to Idaho adolescents aged 12-17. Through our evidence-based, holistic approach, we teach teens how to cope with the challenges of daily life in healthy ways while eliminating their reliance on maladaptive coping mechanisms.
Along with crisis intervention, some of the programs and services we provide include:
- Mental health counseling and intervention
- Psychiatric and nursing care
- Individual counseling
- Family counseling
- Group therapy with peers
- Family healing and support groups
If you are a teen, or parent or guardian of a teen, experiencing a mental health crisis, help is available. Ignoring or dismissing a crisis’s signs and symptoms will only worsen mental health symptoms and lead to problems such as substance abuse, self-harm, or suicidal thoughts or behaviors. Reach out to Imagine Nampa today at 208.203.8574 to learn how we can help your teen and family.
