Crisis and Trauma Counseling and Interventions
This domain covers risk assessment and safety planning, polytrauma, the effects of disasters and trauma on people with disabilities, and emergency preparedness. Items reward knowing concrete tools and when confidentiality yields to safety.
Risk assessment and safety planning
When a client discloses suicidal thinking, the CRC assesses risk before deciding whether to disclose. A written safety plan is a collaborative, stepwise tool the client can use in a crisis. The plan is written in the client's own words and is meant to be used in order, starting with personal warning signs. Crisis resources such as 988 belong in the plan but do not replace the counselor's own assessment.
Trauma and trauma-informed practice
Trauma-informed services change how an agency operates, not just how a counselor talks. NIMH criteria anchor the difference between an acute stress reaction and PTSD. Trauma-informed items often describe an agency policy change and ask which principle it reflects. Duration items test whether you can separate a normal early reaction from a diagnosable condition.
Disasters and continuity of services
People with disabilities face added barriers when emergencies disrupt transportation, medication, and services. CRCs are expected to plan ahead rather than improvise. The Code treats continuity of services as the CRC's responsibility, not something left to chance. Planning includes both client services and the protection of records.
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