Antecedentes Historicos

Basic Crisis Intervention Theory

Caplan and Lindemann often are credited as pioneers in the field of crisis intervention.

Their work began after a tragic event in Boston in 1942, the Cocoanut Grove nightclub

fire, in which 493 people died. Lindemann treated many of the survivors of the nightclub

fire and noted that they shared similar emotional responses, along with the need for psychological

assistance and support (Lindemann, 1944). His work created awareness that

many individuals who suffer loss experience pathological symptoms but have no specific

psychiatric diagnosis. It was his contention that responses to sudden grief are normal

and transient and need not be considered pathological. Lindemann theorized that

“normal” responses to grief include preoccupation and identification with the deceased,

feelings of guilt and expressions of hostility, disorganization in daily functioning, and

somatic complaints (Janosik, 1984). In essence, his paradigm for crisis intervention

included an individual who was in a state of disorganization, brief therapy to assist the

individual in working through grief, and ultimately restoration of equilibrium.

As Lindemann worked with others from Massachusetts General Hospital to assist

survivors who had lost loved ones in the Cocoanut Grove fire, he began to realize that

helpers other than psychiatrists could assist people in coping with their sudden grief.

Lindemann’s report describing common grief reactions to disaster, as well as the benefits

of including clergy and other community helpers in intervention efforts, became a

cornerstone in the conceptualization of community mental health.

Following the Cocoanut Grove fire, Lindemann worked with Caplan to establish a

communitywide mental health program in Cambridge, Massachusetts, known as the

Wellesley Project (Caplan, 1964). The aim of this project was to study and provide support

to individuals experiencing traumatic events. The outcome of this project supported

Caplan’s notion of preventive psychiatry—that is, early intervention in an effort

to promote positive growth and well-being.

Caplan (1961, 1964) expanded Lindemann’s concepts by expanding their application

to a wider field of traumatic events. According to Caplan (1961), “People are in a

state of crisis when they face an obstacle to important life goals—an obstacle that is, for

a time, insurmountable by the use of customary methods of problem-solving. A period

of disorganization ensues, a period of upset, during which many abortive attempts at

solution are made” (p. 18). What is important to note in Caplan’s description is that the

concept of crisis refers to an outcome of a precipitating event, not to the precipitating

event itself. Similar to Lindemann, Caplan described the outcome, or the crisis, as the

state of disequilibrium that the individual experiences.

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