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1996 J. Disp. Resol. 67 (1996)
Crisis Intervention for Legal Counselors

handle is hein.journals/jdisres1996 and id is 73 raw text is: Crisis Intervention for Legal Counselors Brian Easton' I. INTRODUCTION Day-dreaming about financial success, family life, health issues, or an upcoming vacation while driving a car can be an irreversible mistake. A blur that appears on the right side, can within seconds be followed by a forced impact that rotates the car into the guardrail and a world that spins out of control. The next memory will not be of financial prowess or an exciting summer vacation, but of scattered images of doctors, family, and excruciating pain. When the ordeal is over, the tragedy begins as the loss of mobility confines the a hopeful person to a wheel chair and a life with restraints. Farfetched? Perhaps, but tragedy and crisis strike the unexpected and unprepared. For some time the crisis may be nothing more than a simple disagreement between a husband and a wife over an unannounced Internal Revenue Service audit. For others, it may be the bonus not received or an expectedpromotion given to a less qualified employee. Crisis strikes at the heart strings of life and is an unwelcome visitor that lingers to inflict a tailor-made personal trial. What is the response of the victim? For the optimist it is a refiner's response that ennobles the sufferer, yet for the realist it carries seeds of embitterment and depression. Although crisis is experienced in some form by all people, few understand the process and even fewer are willing to undergo the agony before growth can be realized from such a disruptive experience. Through this article, the definition of crisis and potential positive or negative reactions to crises are explored. This article is written with the hope that readers will gain understanding of the stages endured in crisis and knowledge of a sufferer's adaptive or maladaptive behavior. Such knowledge would greatly benefit attorneys in their lawyer-client relationships. To assume clients phone for legal appointments with mere problems is to negate the initial thrust that propels the need for legal advice. A crisis is often this propelling factor, and an attorney must be able to understand, act from a knowledgeable position, empathize and know the legal and nonlegal implications facing the client. To be stationary, aloof, or combative when a client's situation roars toward a crisis peak, is to fail as a legal counselor. * The author is a graduate of Brigham Young University. He is currently employed at the Law Offices of W. Douglas Easton.

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