Introduction
1. Overview of Crisis Response
2. The Trauma Response: Internal Factors
3. The Trauma Response: External Factors
4. Long-Term Stress Reactions
5. Death and Dying
6. Crisis Intervention and Death Notification
7. Crisis and the Continuum of Age
8. Cultural Perspectives on Trauma
9. Post-Trauma Counseling
10. The Spiritual Dimension of Trauma
11. Group Crisis Intervention Techniques
12. Coordinating a Crisis Response Team
13. Managing the Media in Crisis Situations
14. Pre-Crisis Planning for Local Communities
15. Simulating a Group Crisis Intervention Session
16. Class Presentations: Response Plans for Communities in Crisis
17. Practice Group Crisis Intervention Sessions
18. Stress Reactions of Caregivers
Appendix A:Roles in Disasters
Appendix B:Disaster Typologies
Appendix C:"One Pagers"
Appendix D:Catastrophes Used as Reference Points in the Manual
Appendix E:Bibliography
Appendix F:Media Code of Ethics
Appendix G:Sample Press Releases


Errata for the Community Crisis Response Team Training Manual
The material in this document is copyright protected by the Office for Victims of Crime and the National Organization for Victims Assistance. Permission to reproduce any of the material contained in this manual must be granted by one of the above copyright holders.

In addition, the following notice must appear on each page of such material printed: REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR VICTIM ASSISTANCE

This document was prepared by the National Organization for Victim Assistance, supported by Cooperative Agreement number 95-MU-MU-K022, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this document are those of the authors(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Office for Victims of Crime is a component of the Office of Justice Programs which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

About this Manual

Background

The manual is, in fact, an evolutionary document, the outgrowth of NOVA's first Crisis Response Team training outline, published independently in 1987, and an expanded version, whose title is retained in this "Second Edition," published and copyrighted independently, in 1994.

Design

The manual, as indicated by its title, was written as a training guide for individuals and communities interested in responding to crisis. As indicated, it began as a training outline, to which we began adding new ideas, techniques, and information, and the cryptic phrases of the outline gave way to normal text. In fact, the Second Edition may be considered a regular textbook and reference, but with a difference: the outline format has been retained within the text version, and, at the back of each chapter, the earlier content has reduced again into a simple outline format as an aid to trainers and participants.

The Second Edition includes numerous anecdotes and quotations intended to supplement and amplify the text. When these have been drawn from survivors of traumatic events, they often are poignant or reflect the pain of suffering. They are reminders of the emotional reality and commonality of trauma reactions, and may be used by trainers to illustrate points to be made in class. Quotations drawn from scholarly research are intended to serve to guide the reader to other sources of information, as well as to provide alternative explanations of observable phenomena.

There are also references to different spiritual and cultural perspectives throughout the manual. These are intentionally included to underscore the need for non-judgmental responses to diverse populations and values.

Our understandings of trauma, its aftermath and appropriate interventions, have increased greatly over the last decade, and the subject continues to be a fertile field of inquiry. One may be certain that, within a week of the author's possession of her own copy of this Second Edition, it will start filling up with marginal notes on its way to becoming the Third Edition.

About the Organizations

National Organization for Victim Assistance

NOVA is a private, nonprofit membership organization of victim and witness assistance practitioners, victim service programs, criminal justice professionals, researchers, former victims, health and mental health professionals, clergy members, and others committed to the recognition and implementation of victim rights.

NOVA's activities are guided by four purposes: national advocacy, providing direct crisis services to victims, serving as an educational resource to victim assistance and allied professionals, and promoting better communication among its membership.

Office for Victims of Crime

The Office for Victims of Crime was established by the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) to serve as the Federal government's chief advocate for America's crime victims. OVC administers many formula and discretionary grants for programs designed to benefit victims, provides training for diverse professionals who work with crime victims, and develops projects to enhance victims' rights and services. Its mission is to provide victims with justice and healing.

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