LSP Crisis Intervention & Emergency Services 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client calls a crisis hotline stating they have a loaded gun and plan to use it tonight. Which action should the crisis counselor prioritize FIRST?
- Attempt to build rapport before asking about the weapon
- Ask the client to remove themselves from access to the firearm (Correct answer)
- Immediately terminate the call and contact police
- Conduct a full mental status examination
Correct answer: Ask the client to remove themselves from access to the firearm
Means restriction—separating the person from lethal means—is a primary evidence-based safety strategy that can directly reduce suicide risk.
Question 2: Which model of crisis intervention is most widely taught to first responders because it provides a structured, brief framework?
- Psychodynamic crisis therapy
- Roberts' Seven-Stage Crisis Intervention Model (Correct answer)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy
- Cognitive Processing Therapy
Correct answer: Roberts' Seven-Stage Crisis Intervention Model
Roberts' Seven-Stage Model offers a practical, sequential framework for rapid assessment and stabilization that is widely adopted in emergency and first-responder training.
Question 3: During a mass casualty event, psychological first aid (PFA) is the recommended initial intervention. Which of the following is NOT a core element of PFA?
- Ensuring safety and comfort
- Providing psychoeducation about trauma reactions
- Conducting structured diagnostic interviews (Correct answer)
- Connecting survivors with social supports
Correct answer: Conducting structured diagnostic interviews
PFA focuses on immediate stabilization and support, not formal diagnosis; structured diagnostic interviews are inappropriate in the acute aftermath of a disaster.
Question 4: A client in crisis presents with extreme agitation, refuses to sit, and speaks very rapidly. The BEST environmental modification would be to:
- Maintain a small, closed space to contain the client
- Remove excess furniture to allow pacing and reduce stimulation (Correct answer)
- Increase lighting to improve the counselor's visibility
- Have multiple staff present to demonstrate authority
Correct answer: Remove excess furniture to allow pacing and reduce stimulation
Reducing environmental stimulation and allowing physical movement can help de-escalate a highly agitated client during crisis.
Question 5: The Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) approach primarily involves:
- The clinician completing a standard risk checklist independently
- The client and clinician co-creating a safety plan collaboratively (Correct answer)
- Hospitalization as the default intervention for any suicidal ideation
- Pharmacological management as the first-line intervention
Correct answer: The client and clinician co-creating a safety plan collaboratively
CAMS is a therapeutic framework in which the clinician and patient work side-by-side to assess and manage suicidal risk together.
Question 6: A survivor of a recent natural disaster reports feeling numb, detached, and unable to recall key details of the event three days later. This presentation is MOST consistent with:
- Major Depressive Disorder
- Acute Stress Disorder (Correct answer)
- Prolonged Grief Disorder
- Dissociative Identity Disorder
Correct answer: Acute Stress Disorder
Acute Stress Disorder features dissociative symptoms, intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal beginning within three days to one month after a traumatic event.
Question 7: When conducting a mobile crisis response, which ethical obligation takes precedence if the client refuses assessment but appears gravely disabled?
- Respecting client autonomy at all costs
- Initiating an involuntary hold if legal criteria are met (Correct answer)
- Withdrawing services to avoid coercion
- Deferring entirely to law enforcement
Correct answer: Initiating an involuntary hold if legal criteria are met
When a person is gravely disabled and unable to care for themselves, duty to protect and beneficence may override autonomy, permitting an involuntary evaluation hold.
LSP Crisis Intervention & Emergency Services 2
A client calls a crisis hotline stating they have a loaded gun and plan to use it tonight.
Which action should the crisis counselor prioritize FIRST?