Crisis Intervention Assignment

Terri-Ann Thomas, Pauline Brown, Alexandra Patelis and Masa Maghrby

Advanced Settlement Counselling
CSRV39402
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Malene Stewart
 Developing and maintaining rapport will include being open-minded and understanding

towards our client. We would first review the case before meeting with Alvaro Antonio Orozco.

If necessary, we would also reach out to other professionals who have worked with Alvaro to

gain further knowledge that may have been missed previously. This will help us engage the

client because we will be professional and prepared.

If space permits, we will use SOLER by sitting squarely, having open posture, leaning

towards him, maintaining eye contact and being relaxed. This form of non-verbal communication

will give him a warm and inviting feeling and help him open up. Reflective listening is key while

listening to his story (being non-judgmental and avoid understating). We may not know his exact

situation but it is important for us to not diminish his experiences in any way. We will ensure

Alvaro knows we are listening by paraphrasing and reflecting his feelings. We will also practice

cultural awareness. He has been lied to in the past and understandably has issues with trust so

believing his story will help to build an open and honest partnership.

Our challenge for building rapport will be the fact that he is currently being held at the

Toronto Immigration Holding Centre and access to him will be limited. We would have to

comply with visiting rules (days/hours) so our communication will be limited and building

rapport will be far more difficult. Our client’s comfort level might be exceptionally low because

of our environment and him feeling safe will be harder to encourage. We will need to work

quickly in producing results to maintain rapport with Alvaro.

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 The presenting problem is that Alvaro is currently being held and is facing deportation.

The main concern is that he is at risk for abuse when back in his country as his homosexuality is

not accepted. Living in an unsafe environment has affected his ability to learn and caused

mistrust for future relationships. We will inquire about his current functioning state of mind by

asking what he is doing to take care of himself. We will first identify all stressors related to

Alvaro’s situation. Our client was physically and verbally abused, has a lack of education, has

been homeless and has faced adversity due to being homosexual. To identify the degree of stress

he is undergoing, we would use the SUDS Scale to get more accurate results.

It is important to make ethical checks to assess his mental state. Questions in regard to

alcohol or substance use need to be addressed. We must inquire about suicidal thoughts or

attempts. With the use of IS PATH WARM, a suicide checklist, it is easier to identify whether

the client may be having any degree of suicidal thoughts or intentions given his life experiences.

Alvaro’s attempts at coping weren’t made clear in this case study, but one thing that

stood out was his constant fleeing of uneasy situations. It seems his only attempt at coping is to

escape the situation so he would no longer be subjected to abuse. He ran away from his abusive

home and made the choice to hitchhike to rid himself of the pain and this is a form of coping.

In order to encourage some new coping behaviours for Alvaro, we would first ask the

question, “If you were coping with this effectively, what would it look like?” and from there we

would be better able to build on new behaviours. We will instill hope and action in Alvaro. We

want to encourage past behaviour that was successful and build new behaviours that he will be

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motivated to perform. As far as we know, Alavaro has not acquired the skills needed to cope

effectively and successfully so our focus is finding and implementing new ones.

We would tap into coping resources (for the long run) that are readily available to the

public (like support groups and LGBTQ+ friendly community agencies). These resources can

offer help specific to Alvaro’s needs.

Because he is currently in the Holding Centre, we would offer journaling exercises. He is

not able to run away from his issues while being held so being able to write his feelings on paper

to release what he is dealing with emotionally will be helpful. We suggest having his friends visit

as often as possible for him to have a familiar trusted face to talk with and offer comfort. His

resources are limited, but self-care exercises in the small space he is confined to (relaxation

techniques – medication etc), may offer some hope for him to continue fighting for his future.

Depending on the extent of his communication with those in the community, we would suggest

therapy. Having a community professional come in and speak with Alvaro may help reduce

some of the pain from the trauma that was inflicted upon him early in his life.

We would ensure that Alvaro makes a commitment to implement these new coping

behaviours by developing a specific action plan and helping him make realistic goals for his

future. We would also establish a follow-up to guarantee that he is staying on track with his

action plan and coping skills. His plan will clearly outline the new coping skills suggested,

specifically his relaxation techniques to help his mental state. We would also outline the next

steps to continue his fight to stay in Canada (retrieving a lawyer, learning about his rights, going

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to the media etc). This will give Alavaro a guideline so he knows exactly what he needs to do

and stay on track with his coping.

Moving on to advocacy, this case is a form of institutional discrimination as the system

failed to uphold justice, freedom, equity and equality. Our advocacy plan will take place in the

form of protesting, which can be done in many ways. A simple share on various social media

platforms can be a small form of protesting. Our advocacy plan will include many forms of

action from court justice to social services. The judge’s discriminatory decision is a highlighting

factor to fight for Alvaro’s rights.

We will first inform the public by reaching out to human rights advocates in the

community and asking them to bring awareness to their families and friends. We then plan to

create a petition to stop his deportation and remove him from the Holding Centre and have

advocates and their social groups share and sign. We will increase media attention by reaching

out to all well-known news stations and use the public influence from the media/news outlets.

We also plan to develop support groups of volunteers to provide emotional and moral support

and to help build a community for Alvaro that he can rely on once he is no longer detained. Our

final step will be legal action. We will reach out to legal representatives willing to defend

Alvaro’s case. All support systems are needed until the process is complete and Alvaro is safe as

a citizen of Canada.

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 References

Cournoyer, Barry R. (2016). The Social Work Skills Workbook, Eighth Edition. Boston, MA.

Cengage Learning.

Slate (2018). Advanced Settlement Counselling - Adv Sett Week 1

Slate (2018). Advanced Settlement Counselling - Adv Sett Week 2

Slate (2018). Advanced Settlement Counselling - Adv Sett Week 3

Slate (2018). Advanced Settlement Counselling - Adv Sett Week 4

Slate (2018). Advanced Settlement Counselling - Adv Sett Week 5