The aim of a crisis intervention plan is to make sure that the patient has the adequate level of support or support system in place to ensure a safe and effective attainment of treatment aims.  The plan can be created with the assistance of a clinician or a patient advocate (Ruchlewska et al., 2009).  The plan should also include making a list of things that the patient needs whenever symptoms strike.  This crisis intervention plan will go over the elements that will allow Pat, who suffers from bipolar disorder, to have the safety net of support and assistance required of one in his situation.
To develop a crisis plan, the goals of the plan have to be identified.  In Pat’s case, he does not want to go to therapy or accept a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.  He is uncomfortable with the diagnosis, primarily because he possesses a feeling of taboo towards it.  He comes from a family wherein masculinity is defined by strength and the ability to overcome anything.  Accepting such a diagnosis would mean he is weak and unable to achieve success on his own—so he rejects the diagnosis.  The problem is that in rejecting the diagnosis he is also rejecting the treatment that can help, including maintaining a realistic level of self-awareness, willingness to comply with pharmacological treatment protocols, and positive engagement with therapy—i.e., a willingness to apply the topics that are covered in therapy to his own life.  Increased insight, increased self-efficacy, increased therapy adherence, increased acceptance of the illness, increased social support and increased quality of working alliance are the six primary goals of the crisis intervention plan (Ruchlewska et al., 2009).  These six primary goals, once reached, will lead to improved health and social functioning as well as treatment satisfaction.  

However, it is important to explain, using logic and reason, why the plan is needed in the first place.  Patients respond more positively when they can understand the purpose of the plan and the reason for its development and implementation.  They also respond more favorably when they are included in its design and proactively take part in its development rather than passively receive it regardless of their feelings about it.  Thus, the plan should be developed with the patient’s willing involvement and input, as coercion can be seen as a negative factor in the treatment process and crisis plan development (Swartz, Swanson & Hannon, 2003).

The first step in a crisis intervention plan is to be aware of the issues that can trigger a negative emotional response.  A list should be made of the signs and symptoms that the person may...…of the working alliance, Pat and those in his support network may benefit from family counseling, which could be effective particularly for Pat’s father so that he understands the role that he plays in Pat’s disorder.  Pat’s father can be cynical, overbearing and unsympathetic at times.  Pat and his father may have some unresolved issues that can come out in family counseling.  Pat’s obsession with winning back his ex-wife may also be an issue that they can all explore together.  The more committed everyone in Pat’s network is to growing together, the more successful this crisis intervention plan will be.

Pat’s health is not something that should be gone alone.  Pat depends upon the support of those in his family, his friends who are sympathetic to his needs, and those who are tasked with providing care for him.  Pat needs to be open to his treatment, accepting of his diagnosis, willing to gain insight into his disorder, and able to engage in social activities that will help him to achieve a level of self-efficacy that he has heretofore been unable to reach.