CRIS 303 Acute Stress, Grief and Trauma

A general overview and analysis of the impact and consequences of acute stress on victims, first responders, families, and community members. Particular attention is paid to effective counseling strategies, methods and techniques for immediate response, fostering resiliency, and cultural differences.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

With the increase in the number of critical incidents and natural disasters in the past few years, over 80% of individuals will experience acute stress at some point in their lives. Including incidents that involve death, such as murder, suicide, accidents, starvation, sudden infant death syndrome, miscarriages, heart attacks, and natural disasters, the long-term effects of grief and trauma can wreak havoc on its victims. The ability to work through the acute stress can mitigate the effects of long-term trauma in the lives of those impacted. The combined strategies of effective psychological first aid and grief counseling can relieve the acute stress response, foster resiliency, speed up the healing process, and mitigate the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder in the life of a traumatized individual.

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (3)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, for each Discussion, the student will create a thread in response to the provided prompt. Each thread must be at least 300 words and contain thoughtful analysis. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 1 other classmate’s thread. Each reply must be at least 200 words, provide information requested by the prompt, and focus on a meaningful point made in another student’s thread—providing substantive thoughts, furthering discussion on course content, respectfully challenging peers, and explaining agreement/disagreement. Each thread and reply must include at least 1 scholarly source in current APA format, which may include course materials requested by the prompt. Any scholarly sources cited must have been published within the last 5 years. Acceptable sources include the textbooks, the Bible, and other scholarly sources. Journal articles used as references must be submitted as PDFs, and their DOIs must be included in a reference section at the bottom of each post. All posts must be conversational and original and follow all other writing expectations in the grading rubric. (CLO: A, B, C, E, F, I, L)

Crisis Personnel Assignments (2)

Crisis Personnel: Interviewee Identification Assignment 

The student will identify a member of the community (“Crisis Personnel”) who is involved in regular response to crises in the community that must be approved by the instructor. Examples include a police officer, firefighter, medical/mental health professional, or pastoral leader. In 150 words, the student will provide a description of the personnel’s regular response to crisis, as well as what he/she hopes to learn and apply from the interview. The submission must follow all other writing expectations listed in the grading rubric. The student will submit the assignment as a Word document to seek approval for his/her choice. After receiving approval and reviewing the provided information in the assignment instructions, the student may proceed to the next step of scheduling an interview. Before scheduling the interview, the student must also review the assignment instructions and the Interview Questions, Tips, and Etiquette document on the Crisis Personnel: Interview Reflection Assignment page in Canvas for all the information he or she will need to schedule and conduct the interview.

Crisis Personnel: Interview Reflection Assignment 

The student will interview a Crisis Personnel (previously approved by the instructor) using a list of 5 questions in the Interview Questions, Tips, and Etiquette document (provided in the assignment resources section) and prepare a 500–750-word reflection on the interview. The required title and reference pages will not be included in the word count. It should be evident in the reflection that the student asked each of the 5 questions and engaged in a conversation with the interviewee about each one (if the interviewee chose to skip any questions, that should be noted in the reflection). The assignment will be broken into 2 sections labeled with APA-formatted section headings: Interview Summary and Personal Reflection. The interview summary will identify the Crisis Personnel and his/her role (the person’s name may be removed if the interviewee requested to remain anonymous) and summarize the interviewee’s answers for each of the 5 questions. The personal reflection will identify the student’s personal reaction to the interview, as well as identify personal and professional learning and specific ways to apply it. The student must use at least 1 scholarly reference and 1 biblical reference in the personal reflection section. The scholarly source must have been published within the last 5 years. Journal articles used as references must be submitted as PDFs, and their DOIs must be included on the reference page. When necessary, the student will include proper APA in-text citations for personal communication when citing the interview. The assignment should follow all other writing expectations in the grading rubric.

(CLO: D, G)

Research Project Assignments (3)

The student will build a Research Project in the form of a brochure that summarizes acute stress response and discusses resources available. Over the duration of the course, the student will build and submit his/her project in current APA format in 3 parts: creating a title page, purpose statement, outline, and reference document; creating an annotated bibliography; and submitting his/her final project. 

Research Project: Title, Purpose, Outline, References Assignment

The student will compose the title page to identify the title of the brochure. The student will also write a purpose statement of 75–100 words for the project (in third person), identifying the importance of understanding acute stress response and being aware of resources available. Next, the student will write an outline with at least 6 headings, representing the required areas for the project listed in the assignment instructions, and at least 3 scholarly references for the project published within the last 5 years. Each heading must contain an in-text citation of at least 1 of the 3 references to begin to show where the information will come from in the brochure. Course texts and Scripture may be included but will not count toward the 3 scholarly references, and no pop culture, non-scholarly resources are allowed. Journal articles used as references must be submitted as PDFs, and their DOIs must be included on a reference page at the end of the document. Current APA formatting must be used throughout. The student is encouraged to use the template provided on the assignment page for formatting help.

Research Project: Annotated Bibliography Assignment

The student will compose an annotated bibliography for the Research Project. The student will compile a list of at least 5 scholarly references (this number will not include the required texts or Bible) published within the last 5 years in current APA format. The student may use references identified in the Research Project: Title, Purpose, Outline, References Assignment if they meet the criteria. No pop culture, non-scholarly resources are allowed. Journal articles used as references must be submitted as PDFs, and their DOIs must be included on the reference page. Each reference must be accompanied by a brief paragraph (100–150 words) summarizing what the reference is about and the relevant information it brings to the project. The document will be formatted with the References heading at the top of the page.

Research Project: Final Assignment

Utilizing information presented in this course, as well as theoretical and practical elements from academic and Christian sources, the student will compile an original Research Project in the form of a brochure in current APA formatting. The Research Project must be grounded in current research (biblical data, empirical data, or logical synthesis of such data) and include a separate reference page containing a minimum of 5 scholarly references published within the last 5 years, in addition to the textbooks and Scripture. Journal articles used as references must be submitted as PDFs, and their DOIs must be included on the reference page. The body of the project will define acute stress and provide 3 examples; identify physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual components of a normal and abnormal stress response; discuss the daily impact of acute stress on a person; list at least 3 local resources for those in an acute stress situation; and apply God’s Word to crisis in a meaningful way. The final, 2-sided brochure should include 6 columns (3 columns on the front and 3 columns on the back) and at least 500 words, with all ideas clearly expressed. Each column of the brochure must include in-text citations of the scholarly sources used in that column. The student will utilize shortened versions of the required section descriptions to create APA-formatted headings. The brochure should align with all other writing and formatting expectations listed in the grading rubric and will be submitted as a PDF.

(CLO: A, B, C, D, H, K, L)

Case Study Assignment

The student will review the Case Study document provided on the assignment page and will complete a paper of at least 750 words (not including the required title page and reference page) focused on exploring the nature of the crisis presented using specific information from the case, a specific crisis intervention model appropriate for alleviating the crisis response, coping skills that could aid the victim in long-term recovery, resiliency development, and the grief process of the primary victim, including whether he/she effectively grieved through the loss and any further interventions needed. At least 3 scholarly references are required, 1 of which must be from the course content (texts or presentations). Outside references must be published within the last 5 years. Journal articles used as references must be submitted as PDFs, and their DOIs must be included on the reference page. The paper must follow current APA format (including headings used to identify sections and organize structure) and all other writing expectations in the grading rubric. (CLO: A, D, E, F, H, K)

Quizzes (8)

Each quiz will cover the Textbook material for the assigned module. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain 20 multiple-choice and true/false questions and 1 essay question, and have a 1-hour time limit. (CLO: A, B, D, E, F, G, H)