Public & Human Services: Crisis Therapist
Public & Human Services
Christopher Smith: Crisis Therapist
By Jeffery Guillermo • Photo by Scott T. Kubo
As a youth in Sacramento, Calif., Christopher Smith dreamed of joining the CIA and becoming an operations officer in China. Perhaps he was enchanted by the agency’s seal—a compass rose representing the worldwide search for intelligence placed upon a shield that symbolizes our nation’s defense.
“I studied Mandarin for a couple of years and my big goal was to move to China. Sometimes that interest still flickers on and off, but a predominantly new interest has taken over,” Christopher says. Instead of defending the nation in top-secret operations, he protects the people of Hawai‘i as a crisis therapist.
He spends most of his days helping people who are experiencing immediate and often life-threatening crisis situations. “CARE Hawai‘i has a system where its on-call crisis therapists are on a rotation” Christopher explains. “When it’s my turn, I take the crisis calls and respond anywhere on the island. My job is great. I’m a mobile therapist.”
Sometimes on-call crisis therapists might get a little snippet about the problem, but they never really get the full picture until they arrive at the scene. “Much like firefighters and police officers,” Christopher says, “crisis therapists are first responders.”
Each day on the road holds a different experience. “What I like about my job is that no two situations are the same, and it stretches me as a person and makes me more of a compassionate and service-oriented person,” he says. Christopher sees a variety of calls, from heartbroken teenagers to desperate adults.The intensity of each situation depends on the person’s natural abilities to manage emotions.
“Once a client exceeds his/her ability to cope, they’re in a crisis mode,” he explains. “What may be a crisis for me might not be a crisis for you. Not everyone has the necessary coping skills to deal with life.”
As a therapist, your first client is oftentimes yourself. Before you can help others, you have to be in a healthy state of mind. “You really have to know yourself,” Christopher says. “You need to be an inherently positive person, so you can offer a pep talk to others. In order to do that, you really have to be in a good position yourself.”
Along with keeping a handle on your own tension, crisis therapists deal with many difficult subjects—from child abuse to suicide. “You need to be able to deal with people saying, I tried to kill myself yesterday, or I’m planning on killing myself. That’s a lot of very difficult stuff to hear. You have to be able to process it, yet not get bogged down by it.” Christopher likens it to walking through mud while making sure that it doesn’t stick on you.
“I come into each situation with hope and light, and I don’t let negativity get stuck on me.”
Christopher describes his occupation simply: “You meet a person for the first time, you go into his or her house, and there’s you: It’s your job to convince a stranger why their life is worth living.”