Crisis Management: Before and After

On Saturday, June 7th, the LIU Hudson at Rockland Campus hosted an informative presentation Crisis Management Before and After.

"I found the event very comprehensive, beginning with the steps we can take as professionals to prevent a crisis situation and concluding with the work we can do with our clients following a crisis. The event’s presenters included Dr. Mitchell Levy, Dr. Thomas Nardi, and LIU’s recent graduate Jacquelyn Rizzo M.S. The presentation kicked off with the importance of advocating for proactive prevention. Dr. Levy urged his audience to become familiar with their employer’s procedures in case of a crisis, evaluate for gaps in efficiency, and advocate for improvements to be made. A question he posed stuck with me, “Is the status quo good enough… or have you just been lucky this far?” Opportunities to establish or improve preventative action plans will not always be handed to us; however, as beneficent professionals it is crucial that we recognize when action should be taken and rise to the occasion. Dr. Levy went on to present a case study that recounted a situation on a college campus, and the anticipatory training that took place weeks before that enabled the prevention of a crisis situation.

Unfortunately, prevention and containment are not always successful. Dr. Nardi and Ms. Rizzo addressed the aftermath of school violence and ways of minimizing the emotional damage in children. Too often, people believe talking to children about traumatic experiences will worsen the affects. In reality, parents should encourage children to communicate in a safe and validating environment in order to address and work towards coping with children’s experiences. The next step is to be observant of verbal and non-verbal communication such as changes in behavior, appetite, sleeping, or play routines. Children are not always able to verbally express their struggle, but that doesn’t mean they are unaffected by the trauma. The final step in dealing with the aftermath of a crisis is self care. As professionals we must always remember to take care of ourselves and encourage caretaking clients, such as parents, to do the same. With crisis intervention emerging as a field in high demand, the overall presentation was very important and highly intriguing."

by Lindsay March - currently enrolled in the graduate program in Mental Health Counseling at LIU Hudson at Rockland.

For more information about the new 12 credit advanced certificate in Crisis Management being offered at the Rockland Campus of LIU Hudson, contact:      

Dr. Thomas J. Nardi, Director of Counseling Programs at LIU Hudson at Rockland and West Point - 845 450 5429 Thomas.nardi@liu.edu

or

Jeffrey McDowell, Recruitment Manager, LIU Hudson at Rockland 845 450 5414 or Jeffrey.mcdowell@liu.edu

http://www.liu.edu/hudson