Crisis Counselling: The ABC Model

In this course, Dr. Kristi Kanel (California State University, Fullerton) addresses effective approaches to a crisis. Dr. Kanel reviews the history of crisis counseling and provides a brief background of crisis theory. She also defines crisis and offers her general formula for overcoming crisis states. Then Dr. Kanel counsels 2 clients; the first client is a rape survivor, and the second is an Iraq veteran, who has just returned from war. In both sessions, Dr. Kanel demonstrates the ABC Model of Crisis Intervention which includes: “A”: Developing and maintaining rapport: including use of basic attending skills, paraphrasing, and reflection of feeling; “B”: Identifying the nature of the crisis and altering cognitions, including identifying aspects of the crisis state, medical issues, altering cognitions, and support and validation; “C”: Coping which includes resolution, referral, and support groups. A de-briefing session follows each counselling session.