Crisis Intervention in a Municipal Agency: A Conceptual Case History

Abstract

This article is a conceptual case report of a consultation to the Health Department of the City of Cincinnati, an organization in crisis. The consultant's role was one of assisting the organization in the diagnosis and understanding of the current crisis and of developing action recommendations. Despite a crisis climate which reduced their initial credibility, the consultants were able to earn sufficient temporary trust to gain access to the necessary information on the important issues facing the organization and to influence the actions taken. The authors identify consultation behaviors which enhanced the effectiveness of their intervention in this crisis situation. A central issue in this consultation was the identification of the client to whom the consultants were responsible. Recognizing the deep-seated problems inherent in the Health Department as it then existed and the difficulties in implementing changes in such an organization, the consultants began to see their responsibility as not to the organization but to the entire community at large.²