1. Crisis In Primary School and Its Handling Yau Tat-yu

2. Crisis in School Child-abuse case Suicide / self-harm behaviors in school Emotional outburst / mentally unstable Poisonous gas / food found in school …

3. Two Characteristics Life and death issue / serious injury The adverse impact is spreading out in school quickly

4. A few words on Child Abuse Child Abuse – physical, sexual or psychological abuse, child neglect. Social workers must look into the guideline for its handling: http://www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_family/sub_fcwprocedure/i d_childabuse1998/ http://www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_family/sub_fcwprocedure/i d_childabuse1998/ - particularly Chapter 2 (Understanding of Child Abuse), Chapter 6 (Initial Handling of Reports / Referrals) and Chapter 7 (Initial Assessment and Referral Procedures)

5. A few words on Child Abuse Some general guidelines 1. Child protection is primary concern. 2. Reduce the no. of describing the suspected abuse incident to minimum. 3. Work in multi-disciplinary team and have legal implication.

6. What theories say? Crisis – Situation is perceived as intolerably difficult and beyond the coping mechanism, which upsets ‘normal psychic balance’ (Lum, 2004) Stages of Crisis Reaction (Okun, 2002; James & Gilliland, 2001; Caplan, 1964): 1. Initial rise in tension. 2. Fail to alleviate the tension, heightened tension ensues. 3. Tension finally becomes so severe that person feels confused, overwhelmed, helpless, angry, or acutely depressed.

7. School crisis Three Stages of School Crisis ( 游達裕, 2009a) – 關鍵 時刻、緊急狀態, 危機管理 關鍵時刻 – 臨危不亂工作坊 ( 游達裕, 2009b) : develop teamwork approach, flexibly respond to crisis with sound principles 緊急狀態 – clear differentiation on roles and functions among school personnel (four groups)

8. Person in Crisis High risk of committing suicide 1. Has prior attempts 2. Painful situation goes worse / complex, or as perceived 3. Clear plan for suicide 4. Change rather abruptly from being distressed to be apparently at ease 5. Loss of access to important source of support

9. Intervention and Risk assessment When client talks about suicide / suicidal ideation, he is experiencing ‘ambivalence’ and needing help. Engagement and Intervention precede Risk Assessment. Use of ‘Back Tracking’ to have thorough assessment after intervention. When conduct risk assessment, make sure that there is sufficient trust / support in the relationship.

10. Respond to ‘Attempted Suicide’ Sometimes, structuring is required when client is at loss – to ensure a sense of security and direction. Address client’s concern and provide emotional support first. Understand client’s difficulty from his perspective.

11. Respond to ‘Attempted Suicide’ Identify the critical moment when client has recently attempted suicide unsuccessfully. Exploring client’s strengths and resources in working through this moment. Also pay attention to client’s hope / concerns that support him during this hardship.

12. Reference Caplan, G. (1964) Principles of preventive psychiatry. James, R.K. & Gilliland, B.E. (2001) Crisis intervention strategies. Lum, D. (2004) Social work practice and people of color. A process-stage model. Okun, B. (2002) Effective helping: Interviewing and counseling techniques. 游達裕 (2009a) 學校危機的處理. 刊於 ‘ 他山之石 – 一個香港社工 的體驗和觀察 ’ 游達裕 (2009b) 「臨危不亂」工作坊的經驗分享. 刊於 ‘ 他山之石 – 一個香港社工的體驗和觀察 ’