What Is Problem-Focused Coping?

823 Words4 Pages

A stress experience may or may not become a crisis, it all depends on the person’s coping capacities (Walsh, 2013, p. 310). Coping signifies a person’s efforts to overcome the demands of stress which include thoughts, feelings, and actions used as such efforts (Walsh, 2013, p. 310). Adaptation involves related, longer-term adjustments the person may make in his or her lifestyle (Walsh, 2013, p. 310). Furthermore, there are two types of coping, biological and psychological coping. The biological view of stress and coping emphasizes the body’s attempts to maintain physical equilibrium (Walsh, 2013, p. 310). If the body is at the state of disequilibrium that can cause chronic issues such as high blood pressure, stomach and intestinal disorders, …show more content…

311). Some theorists view coping abilities as a stable personality characteristic also known as trait, others see it as a state, a process that is interchangeable depending on the context and situation (Walsh, 2013, p. 311). Moreover, a person’s coping efforts may be problem-focused or emotion-focused (Walsh, 2013, p. 311). Problem-focused coping includes confrontation and problem-solving strategies to change the stressful situation (Walsh, 2013, p. 311). The problem-focused method is seen as more dominate when viewed as the situation is controllable by action (Walsh, 2013, p.311). Emotion-focused coping method is defined by distancing, avoiding, and reappraising of the threat which results in the external situation not changing, but results in the behavior or attitude change in respect to it (Walsh, 2013, p. 311). If stressful situations are seen unchangeable than the emotion-focused coping method is seen to be dominate (Walsh, 2013, p. …show more content…

Flannery and George S. Everly’s research, crisis intervention has proven to be an effective intervention for victims of all types of incidents, especially victims that suffer through extreme stressors that result in psychological trauma (Flannery & Everly, 2000). Crisis intervention is used for provision of emergency psychological care to victims and to assist those victim’s returning to an adaptive level of functioning to prevent potential negative impact of psychological trauma (Flannery & Everly, 2000). Also, further research done by Albert R. Roberts and George S. Everly also states that crisis intervention had become the most widely used treatment modality in the world (Roberts & Everly, 2006). As a result of the crisis intervention and critical incident stress management (CISM) movement, millions of people in crisis have been helped in a cost-efficient and timely manner (Roberts & Everly, 2006). The effectiveness of crisis intervention has been proven by a statistical analysis and quantitative synthesis of 36 peer-reviewed crisis intervention studies that have been explained in the article by Roberts and Everly (Roberts & Everly, 2006). The meta-analysis has been classified in three types: family preservation, multi-session crisis intervention, and single session individual or group crisis debriefing (Roberts & Everly, 2006). Family preservation, also known as in-home intensive family intervention which is usually given over a 3-month period