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INTRODUCTION

The Life Crisis Institute (LCI) is dedicated to education/training, research, and support of excellence in crisis care and violence prevention services. It was founded in 1986 by Lee Ann Hoff at a university in Boston. A key aim is addressing both the danger and opportunity inherent in life crises and related topics affecting psychosocial health.

Persons interested in the Institute activities and/or seeking interprofessional collaboration on crisis and violence issues, please contact info@crisisprograms.org

The Institute’s maiden project was a survey of 1037 undergraduates among 15,214 students across study areas to identify their stress and crisis points. Students cited key stressors as “fear of failing” and “relationship problems”. The most significant responses to these stressors were “dropping out of school” and “consideration of suicide.” Students also cited lack of 24/7 crisis services. Unfortunately, these and related challenges and dangers are prominent today not only among students but many more in the global community.

The Chinese charecter for crisis captures a pivotal facet of the crisis experience as a point of danger as well as opportunity. It also alerts us to the fact that across cultures there are commonalities and differences in people's responses to life's stressors and traumas. The Life Crisis Institute responds to these cross-cultural themes and sensitivities through collaborative education and training projects.

CRISIS: DANGER and OPPORTUNITY
Danger… of health decline, suicide, violence, substance abuse
Opportunity…for growth, development, and strength during future crises.

Through consultation, workshops, and formal courses, the Institute offers a timely response to the growing need for a coordinated, interdisciplinary approach to education/training, model crisis service delivery, and research relevant to distressed individuals, families, and communities. In particular, Institute Associates recognize that crisis is NOT a psychiatric “disorder”. Rather, it is a NORMAL acute emotional upset in response to traumatic events such as victimization by violence, loss of job or home, etc. The Institute focuses on crisis, trauma, and psychological issues that situate personal life crises in broader socio-cultural context. The Institute vision is for CRISIS CARE and PEACE among individuals, family, and the global community.

Sharing Our Vision

A vision without a task is but a dream.
A task without a vision is but drudgery.
A vision with a task can change the world.

Global Cooperation For A Better World, India

People world-wide struggle with normal life transitions and the traumas of illness, divorce, unemployment, accidents, and death. Today we are increasingly threatened with job loss, violent crimes, ethnic and gender conflict, illness (e.g., AIDS), homelessness, disaster, and the hazardous impact of environmental pollution on health, home, and our general well-being. As stress and anxieties increase, suicide and homicide have become leading causes of death in many societies, while millions of women, children, and older adults are abused by partners or caretakers.

The impact of such events takes its toll in economic loss, insecurity, and vulnerability to further risk. Individuals, families, communities, and human service providers struggle to respond to these stressful developments, while addressing new demands in an era of fiscal constraint and global change.

ACTIVITIES and PROGRAMS

SYMPOSIUM:

CRISIS, VIOLENCE, AND HUMAN RIGHTS - Education/Training, Research, Service Issues

A 3-day international interdisciplinary conference to consider violence and abuse issues as a key sub-set of the crisis and human rights fields. Symposium planning, 2014