Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) Practice Exam

During a crisis intervention, what is the priority for a social worker after assessing immediate dangers?

1. Develop a long-term treatment plan

2. Stabilize the situation and ensure safety

3. Gather additional family history

4. Contact law enforcement

The correct answer is: Stabilize the situation and ensure safety

In a crisis intervention, prioritizing the stabilization of the situation and ensuring safety is crucial. When a social worker assesses immediate dangers, the first step is to address any threats to the individual's well-being or safety. This could include evaluating for potential harm to themselves or others and taking necessary actions to mitigate those risks, such as providing support, ensuring a safe environment, and connecting individuals to resources that can help. Focusing on stabilization allows the social worker to provide immediate relief to those in distress and prevents further escalation of the crisis. Once the immediate safety concerns are addressed, the social worker can then transition to other important tasks, such as gathering family history or developing a long-term treatment plan, but these can only occur effectively if the initial crisis has been managed. The option of contacting law enforcement may be appropriate in certain situations, such as when there is an imminent threat of violence or self-harm, but it is not always the first step. Ensuring safety and stabilization should be addressed first before determining the need for law enforcement involvement or other systemic interventions.