Crisis Resources for Adults

ASHLEY HUDGENS
WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
CNS 739: ADVANCED COUNSELING SKILLS
DR. ELSTON
Population of
Interest
► I plan to focus on individual
counseling for adults from various
cultures and backgrounds
► Adults facing marital or family
difficulties, career changes, or
overcoming disabilities, etc. (APA,
2008)
► Everyone experiences hardships at
some point in their life, with
varying degrees of severity.
 Mental Health Statistics

► Suicidal ideation continues to increase among adults in the U.S. 4.58% of adults
report having serious thoughts of suicide
► Over half of adults with a mental illness do not receive treatment, totaling over 27
million adults in the U.S. who are going untreated
► Both adults and youth in the U.S. continue to lack adequate insurance coverage.
11.1% of Americans with a mental illness are uninsured.
► 1 in 5 adults—43.8 million or 18.5%—experiences mental illness in a given year
♦ Among the 20.2 million adults who experienced a substance use condition,
50.5% (10.2 million adults) had a co-occurring mental illness
 Types of Crises

► What is a crisis?
► A situation (e.g., a traumatic change) that produces significant
cognitive or emotional stress in those involved in it. (APA, n.d.)
► Crisis has different meanings to different people
► Different client responses that can indicate a crisis include mental,
emotional, behavioral and physical
► Behavioral emergencies, systemic crisis, metastasizing crisis ( James
& Gilliland, 2016)
 Why?

► Many reasons people can experience a crisis in their lifetime

► People experience a state of crisis when they are faced with an obstacle that is a
threat to their important life goals

► Some reasons behind crises

► mental illness
► traumatic events
► home or environmental stressors
► school or work stressors
 Resources
► Resources needed will depend on reason and types of crisis

► Resources may include:

► support from family members
► access to primary doctors, counselors, etc.
► information to crisis lines

► Resources allow individuals in a crisis to find support on a personal, local and

national level.

► Coronavirus pandemic

(APA, 2020)
 Available Resources

►National Suicide Prevention

Lifeline
Lifeline (suicidepreventionlifeline.org)
►Nami Charlotte
Local Resources - NAMI Charlotte
 Summary of Takeaways

► Anyone can find themselves in a crisis

► A crisis is complex and different for everyone

► As a counselor, I will want to provide clients with a sense of security and trust,
above all.
 References
► American Psychological Association. (2008). Counseling psychology. American Psychological Association.
Retrieved November 12, 2021, from https://www.apa.org/ed/graduate/specialize/counseling.
► American Psychological Association. (n.d.). APA Dictionary of Psychology. American Psychological
Association. Retrieved November 13, 2021, from https://dictionary.apa.org/crisis.
► Bray, B. (2021). Crisis counseling: A blend of safety and compassion. Counseling Today. Retrieved November 14,
2021, from https://ct.counseling.org/2021/07/crisis-counseling-a-blend-of-safety-and-compassion/
► James, R. K., & Gilliland, B. E. (2016). Crisis Intervention Strategies (8th Edition). Cengage Limited.
https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781337531061
► Kozan, S., Blustein, D. L., Paciorek, R., Kilbury, E., & Işık, E. (2019). A qualitative investigation of beliefs
about work-related crises in the United States. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 66(5), 600–612.
https://doi-org.go.libproxy.wakehealth.edu/10.1037/cou0000343
► MHA. (2022). The state of mental health in America. Mental Health America. Retrieved November 14, 2021,
from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
► NAMI. (2018). Navigating a mental health crisis . Retrieved November 13, 2021, from
https://www.nami.org/Support-Education/Publications-Reports/Guides/Navigating-a-Mental-Health-Crisis/
Navigating-A-Mental-Health-Crisis.