What does a crisis intervention specialist do?
A crisis intervention specialist provides counseling services and intervention to patients in high-stress situations. Their responsibilities include conducting assessments to understand the clients' conditions, studying their medical histories and personal background, developing treatment plans, and regularly monitoring their behavior and progress. They may also coordinate with the patients' families or guardians, provide care advice, or refer patients to other specialists when necessary. Moreover, a crisis intervention specialist gives emotional support and guidance to patients, helping them deal with stress.
Crisis intervention specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real crisis intervention specialist resumes:
- Provide clinical assessments, crisis intervention and supportive counseling for patients who are involuntary admissions.
- Provide content lead support on mathematics assessment projects/contracts.
- Provide mathematics content expertise and consultation to meet and support customer specify goals.
- Prepare, arrange, and facilitate involuntary and voluntary inpatient psychiatric hospitalization placement for patients when clinically indicate.
- Provide individual counseling, weekly psycho-educational groups in DBT and substance abuse prevention, crisis intervention and administration of clinical intakes.
- Author and review items for ESL assessments, including TOEFL and TOEIC tests.
- Calibrate for and conduct oral interviews; help determine placement into ESL classes.
- Assist consumer apply for food stamps, social security, Medicaid etc.
- Integrate interview data, collateral records and psychological assessment information into comprehensive reports for the courts or overseeing DCF office.
Crisis intervention specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Crisis Intervention Specialists are proficient in Social Work, Patients, and Substance Abuse. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Emotional skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Crisis Intervention Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Social Work, 15%
Assisted families with intellectually disabled children; intervened in behavioral crisis components; created family goals in conjunction with social workers.
- Patients, 12%
Prepare, arrange, and facilitate involuntary and voluntary inpatient psychiatric hospitalization placement for patients when clinically indicated.
- Substance Abuse, 7%
Provide crisis interventions to individuals with psychological, emotional, or substance abuse problems.
- Community Resources, 5%
Included assistance setting up respite, acquiring needed assistance from community resources, individual and family therapy and crisis interventions.
- Crisis Stabilization, 5%
Provided 30 day crisis stabilization services Provided emergency room physicians and law enforcement with psychiatric consultation and resource coordination.
- Triage, 4%
Trained and mentored new employees in crisis triage protocols and computer programs.
"social work," "patients," and "substance abuse" are among the most common skills that crisis intervention specialists use at work. You can find even more crisis intervention specialist responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a crisis intervention specialist to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "clients talk to social workers about challenges in their lives." Additionally, a crisis intervention specialist resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "use of proper communication skills to best deescalate crisis situations. "
Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of crisis intervention specialists is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday crisis intervention specialist duties, as "social workers must be able to work with different groups of people." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "included basic understanding of severe mental illness and its effect on decision-making and interpersonal communication. "
Organizational skills. A big part of what crisis intervention specialists do relies on "organizational skills." You can see how essential it is to crisis intervention specialist responsibilities because "social workers must help and manage multiple clients, often assisting with their paperwork or documenting their treatment." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical crisis intervention specialist tasks: "possess superior organizational skills in regards to keeping client records and pertinent clinical documentation. "
Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for a crisis intervention specialist to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what crisis intervention specialists relies on this skill, since "social workers must analyze their clients’ complex situations and develop practical solutions." How this skill relates to crisis intervention specialist duties can be seen in an example from a crisis intervention specialist resume snippet: "mediated and resolved conflicts between youth and staff; intervened in crisis situations. "
The three companies that hire the most crisis intervention specialists are:
- Memorial Health Systems Corporation8 crisis intervention specialists jobs
- Riverside Community Care8 crisis intervention specialists jobs
- Legacy Health7 crisis intervention specialists jobs
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Compare different crisis intervention specialists
Crisis intervention specialist vs. Family support worker
A family service worker is a social service agent who assesses the needs of family and promotes wellbeing, social justice, and human rights through governmental and social service agencies. Family service workers offer services that can include counseling and mediation to families that will help them navigate the protocols of the social system. They act as liaisons between families facing problems and different government organizations. Family service workers also ensure that families in need are getting the benefits they are entitled to, as well as help them access various community resources.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, crisis intervention specialist responsibilities require skills like "patients," "crisis stabilization," "triage," and "emergency services." Meanwhile a typical family support worker has skills in areas such as "foster care," "family support," "family services," and "protective services." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Family support workers earn the highest salaries when working in the government industry, with an average yearly salary of $40,316. On the other hand, crisis intervention specialists are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $57,529.The education levels that family support workers earn slightly differ from crisis intervention specialists. In particular, family support workers are 12.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a crisis intervention specialist. Additionally, they're 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Crisis intervention specialist vs. Case worker
Caseworkers are social workers who watch over the welfare of underprivileged individuals and at-risk families by counseling and providing them with assistance. Usually employed under the government or a local non-profit organization, a caseworker must conduct a thorough interview and house visits to determine the needs of the family. They then refer them to any programs or agencies that can give them the specific care and help needed. Furthermore, it is crucial to identify neglect and abuse signs, reporting them to the authorities right away.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that crisis intervention specialist responsibilities requires skills like "crisis stabilization," "triage," "emergency services," and "mental health crisis." But a case worker might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "child abuse," "customer service," "foster care," and "public assistance."
Case workers earn a lower average salary than crisis intervention specialists. But case workers earn the highest pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $40,730. Additionally, crisis intervention specialists earn the highest salaries in the professional with average pay of $57,529 annually.case workers earn lower levels of education than crisis intervention specialists in general. They're 12.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for crisis intervention specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Virginia Schwindt
MSW Field Director/Associate Professor, Union University
Crisis intervention specialist vs. Service counselor
Service counselors provide guidance to couples, individuals, groups, and families who are going through issues that influence their well-being and mental health. They comprehensively approach their clients by utilizing a "wellness" model that focuses on and motivate the client's potentials. Their duties include inspiring clients to talk about their emotions and experiences, helping them determine their action plans and goals, as well as designing therapeutic methods. Also, they may refer their clients to other services or psychologists.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, crisis intervention specialists are more likely to have skills like "crisis stabilization," "triage," "emergency services," and "mental health crisis." But a service counselor is more likely to have skills like "rehabilitation," "customer service," "aaa," and "financial assistance."
Service counselors make a very good living in the education industry with an average annual salary of $43,030. On the other hand, crisis intervention specialists are paid the highest salary in the professional industry, with average annual pay of $57,529.service counselors typically earn lower educational levels compared to crisis intervention specialists. Specifically, they're 9.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Crisis intervention specialist vs. School social worker
A school social worker specializes in counseling students, families, and faculty members. They are responsible for coordinating with the school to develop programs that prioritize the students' emotional and psychological well-being, respond to any issues and concerns, build rapport to identify their needs, and communicate with support services to provide necessary assistance to any students or families. There are also instances when a school social worker must assist teachers in handling students with behavioral issues, investigating the underlying reasons. Moreover, it is crucial to identify any signs of neglect or abuse, conducting interventive measures right away.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between crisis intervention specialists and school social workers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a crisis intervention specialist might have more use for skills like "patients," "crisis stabilization," "triage," and "emergency services." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of school social workers require skills like "social emotional," "professional development," "behavioral issues," and "child abuse. "
School social workers enjoy the best pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $53,660. For comparison, crisis intervention specialists earn the highest salary in the professional industry.In general, school social workers hold higher degree levels compared to crisis intervention specialists. School social workers are 26.9% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of crisis intervention specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
