Crisis intervention in a school community disaster: Principles and practices

Abstract

This study describes and evaluates a school community—based primary and secondary crisis intervention program with 415 children in the seventh grade and their teachers during an acute bereavement reaction to the death of 19 schoolmates and the critical injury of 14 others in a school bus accident. Four interventions principles that were originally proposed for dealing with combat stress reactions—immediacy, proximity, expectancy, and community—were reinterpreted and applied in dealing with the stress reactions of these children and their teachers. Crisis management during the first week is described in some detail, intervention principles are presented, two cases of individual treatment are summarized, follow-up data are provided, and recommendations are offered for dealing with future crises of this kind.