Crisis intervention in the hospital

the perception of psychology professionals

Abstract

Crises in the hospital environment are characterized by the temporary psychological imbalance of the person affected and require immediate intervention by the psychologist, with a focus on managing the situation and preventing further problems. The aim of this study was to understand the perception and experience of psychology professionals when faced with these situations. To this end, we sought to describe how requests for intervention in crisis situations come to the psychology team, how professionals perceive and act in these situations and how they understand their experience. Semi-directed interviews were conducted with 11 psychologists who work in hospitals. The material was subjected to content analysis and organized into four categories: “Reception of requests for crisis intervention”, “Crisis situations during hospitalization”, “Psychological interventions in crisis situations” and “Adversities to carrying out crisis intervention”. Most crisis intervention requests were made through informal channels. Common triggers included hospitalization, medical complications, deaths, accidents, trauma, and external factors. Participants underscored the need for context-specific interventions focused on psychological stabilization, involving rapid preparation, interdisciplinary collaboration, communication facilitation, strengthening of therapeutic rapport, and post-crisis follow-up. Key challenges identified were the lack of dedicated spaces, limited understanding of the psychologist’s role among other professionals, constraints inherent to the hospital setting, and insufficient training for this context.