A Crisis Intervention Service: Comparison of Younger and Older Adult Clients

This paper compares adult and elderly clients of a Crisis Intervention Service in an Urban metropolitan area. Based on crisis intervention theory, a telephone counseling/referral serviceand a mobile intervention team for home assessments were developed. Findings indicate the importance of using a biopsychosocial model, particularly in the assessment of elderly persons for medical problems and related psychological dysfunction. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the elderly themselves and their families need more education in recognizing the early warnings of an impending crisis.