Crisis Intervention Case Study: Bank Robbery Trauma

This case study analyzes a bank robbery scenario, presenting the experience from the perspective of a therapist. The assignment identifies the precipitating events leading to the crisis, detailing the victim's emotional trauma, including panic attacks, emotional shock, and anxiety. It classifies the crisis as situational, triggered by a specific traumatic event. The response focuses on acknowledging the victim's feelings, encouraging peaceful activities, and normalizing the experience of shock, fear, and potential denial. The therapist emphasizes that recovery varies, and provides support by encouraging the victim to seek professional help and talk about the experience. The case concludes with the victim's expression of resilience and determination to overcome the event, highlighting the importance of time and self-care in the healing process, referencing relevant literature on crisis management and compassion fatigue.

Running head: Crisis 1
Crisis
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

Crisis 2
Crisis
Introduction
Crisis mean a crucial or decisive point or situation, it’s the do or die moment in which the
protagonist must gather all their power and courage in order to wean the opposing forces. One
morning a strange face entered in my office looking for help. The victim was suffering from
emotional trauma as she looked confused, panic attack, emotional shock and anxiety (Figley,
2013).
Without even knowing where to begin, she started to narrate what happened and she said.
“There is a bank robbery that has happened on our bank few minute ago and the whole thing
only lasted about five minutes and the situation has sure changed my life forever I never
experienced strange thing like this before, like forever I never thought it would happen to me,
just I can’t stop thinking about that gun. And all I could do is look at that gun ,Like i could not
give a description to the police officer of this, all I could do is say he at that big black ham
gun”(Cadwalladr, 2017). First of all I acknowledged her spoken feelings and I encouraged the
victim to spend most of his time in peaceful activities .example to spend time with friends and
family and to leave the house for a little while each day to avoid that pain protracted and
interfering with daily life (Cadwalladr, 2017). I advised the victim that, it’s normal, it’s normal
to feel overwhelmed or helpless. You may feel numb as if disconnected from your body, or
experience a sense of immobilization and it may seem as if it was a bad dream (Cadwalladr,
2017). The victim interrupted me and continued to express her feeling by saying that
“First thought was like, is this really happening? Didn’t seem like it was a really event, kind of
like you’re watching it happened to somebody else (Kienzler, 2008). I think I was so terrified, I
numbed up” .But I showed the victim it’s normal to experience some of these events by telling

Crisis 3
her that those responses may be typical for people involved in a robbery. And some people may
have no reaction at all, to mean that for others the reaction may vary from extreme fear to
helplessness, to denial (Coombs, 2014) .And she should worry not because everyone heals at a
different rate. People may focus on the aspect of the event such as weapon, some may feel
disconnected from the event dreamlike, and event not seems like real time and reaction may
include symptoms of shock. Some people are not affected at all and it’s normal to feel
overwhelmed or helpless. She said” I don’t know if that’s the right way to describe it but it was
something terrible because there was a bomb left in there (Cadwalladr, 2017). It was kind of you
just been through this traumatic experience and both the FBI and the police department did come
out and responded to it”. And this was the words of the victim after this long conversation,
looking stronger and positive she said.” More than I can say I have to admit right after the
robbery, I almost quit my job but I will keep on doing it, am not going to allow this event to
control my life anymore , I have to regain my energy and take everything lit ”. And I concluded
the following to my victim.
Its importance to remember that, things will get better it may take longer for some than
others but you’ll get there. Take the time if you need to cry and cry, if you need to seek
professional help seek professional help, talk to other people about it (Cadwalladr, 2017). Don’t
let anybody feel that they need to rush you through this to take ride along the roller.

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Reference
Figley, C. R. (2013). Compassion fatigue: Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in
those who treat the traumatized. Routledge.
Kienzler, H. (2008). Debating war-trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in an
interdisciplinary arena. Social Science & Medicine, 67(2), 218-227.
Cadwalladr, C. (2017). The great British Brexit robbery: how our democracy was hijacked. The
Guardian, 7.
Coombs, W. T. (2014). Ongoing crisis communication: Planning, managing, and responding. Sage
Publications.
.