Recognizing a Psychological Emergency

You may not always be able to immediately identify a state of serious emotional upset, but you should be able to recognize some common signs and characteristics of a psychological emergency, such as those listed in figure 2-9.

A crisis may occur at any time. A crisis may erupt from any event, such as an environmental or material condition, a personal or physical event, an interpersonal or social situation, during any life cycle passage associated with the normal facets of human growth, and during life cycle transitions that signal a change in social status.

The key to recognizing and understanding a psychological emergency resulting from a crisis is the term emotional. People have feelings about the things that happen to them in life. These feelings can incapacitate them. Most people prefer to be in charge of their own lives and hate to admit they cannot cope.

Figure 2-9.-Signs and characteristics of psychological emergencies.

Responding to Psychological Emergencies reaction, your nonthreatening manner, and courtesy, as well your tone of voice that will mark true compassion in guiding an overwrought person to a calmer demeanor. Figure 2-10 offers some insight and choice, trained chaplains react appropriately. You, guidelines you can use in responding to situations too, must act appropriately. Often it will be your ^{involving distraught persons.} _{When reality strikes and coping is no longer a} 

Figure 2-10.-Guidelines in dealing with distraught persons. 2-15

You can prepare yourself for many emergencies. Some excellent training sources you can use are a basic first aid training course, a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course, a litter-bearer training course for nonmedical personnel, and the Standard First Aid Training Course, NAVEDTRA 12081.

It will be reassuring to you that people will often respond positively to your efforts to help. Many people, following an emotional or emergency encounter, will handle their dilemma with dignity and grace and often react with gratefulness. Some may even find humor in the situation and their reactions will even tend to lighten the intensity of the condition. Because you cannot predict every person's reaction to a traumatic event, you must be prepared to deal with a variety of possible responses. Being prepared to handle the broad range of possible human responses to a crisis will help you to develop your own perspective about your rating and your job and to become a better RP.

ESCORTING CHAPLAINS DURING FAMILY VISITS

In the chaplain's business to provide a personal service to a Navy or Marine Corps member's family, it may be necessary to call upon a client in the home or some neutral place. Often, the nature of a pastoral or counseling visit may place a chaplain in a delicate situation, and the chaplain may call upon you to accompany him or her during the visit. At these times, your role is to be the chaplain's confidant or confidante, support person, team member, or witness to ensure the honesty of the moment.

For whatever reason, you will be in a position to hear personal, confidential information. Be discretely alert, nonjudgmental, and silent but supportive to your chaplain. The occasion may even require that you simply be there; to play with a child, children, or an animal; to attend to an elderly person; or to care for an afflicted or impaired person.

Upon completion of the visit, review in private your observations with the chaplain. After all, the chaplain may not have had the same observations. After this private review, the whole episode must be forgotten.

PREPARING DAILY CENSUS REPORTS ON HOSPITAL AND BRIG PERSONNEL ASSIGNED

People entering hospitals and brigs need to know immediately that someone cares about them. If soon after entering the hospital or the brig, a person can see that the chaplain is there, the chaplain's visit can make a importance difference in that person's life. One of your primary responsibilities is to keep your chaplain informed and up to date about these people.

To be able to keep your chaplain informed, it will be necessary for you to become a liaison person with the administration personnel of military and civilian hospitals and brigs. Staying on top of this responsibility requires time and patience. Eventually, you must develop your own method for staying on top. Remember, any method you use will require your daily attention. Figure 2-11 shows a form you can use to develop your own method. You can use this form to account for an individual person or incident or multiple persons or incidents, whichever is most helpful to you.

Up until now, we have talked about your responsibilities for pastoral care and counseling. As you probably realize, you must be aware of your role to assist your chaplain as he or she ministers to needs of people who are experiencing some type of adverse or stressful circumstance. In the following sections, however, you will read about some of your duties in providing assistance to your chaplain in other types of events and programs, those especially involving the routines of fellowship.