Challenging Contacts Resource List
All frontline programs experience challenging client interactions. These can range from individuals expressing anger or frustration about their situations to crisis contacts and even abusive calls. It’s important for counselors to know that there are resources to help you manage those difficult interactions. The resources below offer counselors strategies and tools for ensuring professional well-being while handling a variety of challenging encounters.
Inform USA Webinar Resources
- Adding Empathy and Compassion in Your Toolkit
- Becoming an I&R Wizard
- Biases, Boundaries, and Self-Care for the I&R Specialist
- Deliberate Self-Care
- Dread Them No More
- The Effectiveness of Active Listening in a Crisis: Why it Works
- Foundational and Practical Self-Care
- Frequent Callers: The Whole Story
- Managing Difficult Calls: Looking in the Mirror
- Providing Crisis Support Through Text and Chat
- Say What?! How To Communicate Anything to Anyone
- Use Your Janet Jackson Voice – Managing Difficult Callers
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Resources
- Closing Conversations
- Crisis Counselor Self-Care
- Guidance for Supporting Familiar Individuals
- Responding to Abusive Behavior During 988 Conversations
- Responding to Angry Expressions During Crisis Conversations
- Self-Disclosure on the Crisis Line
- The Power of Customer Service Focus in Crisis Counseling
ACL/OHIC Resources
- An Introduction to Microaggressions
- An Introduction to Person-Centered Thinking
- Being Resilient Through COVID and Beyond
- Connecting with Beneficiaries: Communication Techniques
- Coping with Organizational Stress Pt 1
- Coping with Organizational Stress Pt 2
- Counseling Soft Skills are Different from Hard Skills, and Just as Important Video
- Counseling Soft Skills are Different from Hard Skills, and Just as Important Article
- Debrief for AEP Relief is a Gift for Counselors
- Five Tips Help Counselors Engage Beneficiaries by Phone
- Furthering Person-Centered Thinking Through a Trauma-Informed Approach
- How to Identify Microaggressions
- Not all SHIP Counseling Sessions are Created Equal
- Self-Care Strategies to Sustain You in Your Work
- Unconscious Bias and Microaggressions
- Using Soft Skills to Enhance Medicare Counseling
Resources for De-escalation and Debriefing
- Coping with Challenging Clients
- Debriefing Techniques: How to Use Them for Prevention
- How Can I De-escalate a Situation When Someone is Angry or Agitated?
- How to Use Emotion Regulation Coping Skills
- Responding to Microaggressions and Unconscious Bias
- Solving the 7 Hardest Customer Service Scenarios
- The Seven Steps of Critical Incident Stress Debrief
- The Trauma-Informed Toolkit
- Validation: Defusing Intense Emotions
- What is Trauma Informed Care