Born in the 1950’s with the work of Redl and Wineman with delinquent youth, Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) survived behavior modification domination throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s, existing today as a systematic, teachable approach used internationally with children who need mental health support. Nicholas Long, Mary Wood and Frank Fecser are credited with developing the system into the teachable format that is offered at training sites throughout the country. The cognitive-behavioral non-physical crisis intervention strategy teaches six distinct interventions which target self-defeating behavior patterns common to youth. The interventions are built upon foundational skills of effective listening, decoding, discovering the reasons behind the behavior and teaching that insight to the child. In LSCI participants learn about the differences in psychological perspectives of an upset person compared to the helper, as well as the conflict cycle dynamic and how to break it down. Instead of just “putting the lid on a boiling pot” with short-term strategies, LSCI is designed to work towards lasting change in the person who is struggling.
In 1998 KidsPeace sent a delegation of dedicated staff to the Black Hills of South Dakota, where the group was first introduced to the concepts of LSCI. The delegation came back and used the techniques for months before reporting back to organizational leadership with resounding and unanimous support for the method. In the almost 20 years since then, our instructors have trained hundreds of professionals working with children to utilize the revolutionary techniques of LSCI. Participants have included employees from KidsPeace locations in Maine, New York, Minnesota and Pennsylvania, as well as our professional colleagues outside of KidsPeace all across the United States; in 2008 the KidsPeace Institute even trained members of the Tshimshian Native American tribe in Metlakatla, Alaska.
In 2000, the Life Space Crisis Intervention Institute honored KidsPeace by recognizing the KidsPeace Institute™ as a National Training Site for LSCI. In 2013 one of our senior trainers became a Master Trainer and is now able to mentor new professionals through the process of becoming senior trainers.
In 1998 I was working as an Assistant Treatment Team Supervisor for an adolescent transitional girls’ unit within KidsPeace’s residential programs. The girls I worked with had significant trauma histories and had spent much of their childhoods in foster care, psychiatric hospitals and residential treatment facilities. I was on the front lines with them every day, hearing their stories and dealing with crises. The behavior we saw in that program was varied and included things like verbal aggression, violence, self-injury, sexual acting-out, substance abuse, eating disorders and much more. When the flyer came across my desk to sign up for Life Space Crisis Intervention training I called my supervisor immediately and asked if I could go. I was blessed with a supervisor who really did have the vision of what LSCI could do for kids in crisis and he fully supported me. I came back from the training a completely changed professional. It totally turned everything I did with my clients on its head (in a positive way!).
Around the same time I received initial certification in LSCI my twin sons turned two years old. I remember that LSCI did not only have an impact on the way I interacted with children at work; it also changed me as a parent. All throughout their development I used LSCI skills in my responses to their needs and behaviors. I focused on my relationship with them and valued that above all desire to control or punish. I still held them accountable, but I put my focus and energy into our relationship. I remember doing my first full LSCI reclaiming intervention (New Tools Intervention) with them at the age of four. During elementary school I once sat with one of them mapping out the conflict cycle on paper and having him identify where things went wrong. As they became teenagers I used LSCI to open and deepen dialogue with them in situations where talking seemed impossible. During the college selection process I was able to decode fear beneath the resistance to complete application essays. I could give you countless examples – all related directly to my LSCI training and experience.
My sons grew under the influence of an LSCI parent. I never thought much about how that may work out later on. I didn’t do it to get a desired result; I did it because that’s what worked. I didn’t have to scream and yell or lose my mind to get desired behaviors. Because the relationships were paramount to me, they also became important to my sons. Those relationships were what helped us navigate many difficult circumstances throughout their childhood. But that’s not the end of the story…
One time when my son was nearing the end of high school I overheard him on the phone with an upset friend. I was shocked to hear him walk through the six stages of LSCI with this friend like he had attended the certification process himself! He was able to de-escalate his friend and help him see some alternatives all without once losing his cool. It dawned on me in that moment that my children had experienced the best possible “training” that could ever be designed just by being the child of an LSCI parent. When my sons were 20 years old they both decided, much to my surprise that they wanted to work for KidsPeace as mental health technicians. Both of them said that they wanted to “give back” in the tradition that their mother and father had given to the mental and behavioral health field for children. In the time since they have begun working here I have heard very interesting conversation at home. Some of their thoughts have to do with how they might avoid restraint situations and creative ways to handle crisis scenarios. As I listen to them talk to each other about these things I realize that the seeds of seeing the best in kids, understanding their backgrounds, being compassionate, looking for alternatives….all of these seeds were planted years ago when they were being raised on LSCI.
And so, a new generation of helpers is born. Because of the valuable LSCI skills I learned almost 20 years ago this next generation will positively impact a countless number of suffering children. I think about how it may impact them as parents to their own children, and therefore generations to come. I think about how being raised on LSCI could positively impact their friendships, their future marriages and more. This is the legacy of Life Space Crisis Intervention. It is so much more than a training. It is a way of life for handling very difficult circumstances and coming away with a better relationship and a step toward healing.
Responses to the learning experience of LSCI have been overwhelmingly positive over the last 20 years at KidsPeace. LSCI graduates continue to tout it as the “best training I’ve ever had,” “(having) valuable skills I will use in my job.” It is the use of extensive experiential training with “true-to-life” scenarios that distinguishes LSCI. Though sometimes tentative at first, trainees begin to enjoy the experiential process that allows them to receive feedback in the moment from instructors and classmates. As the certification progresses, instructors see a growth of competency and confidence in trainees, culminating with graduation on the last day. Graduates leave LSCI encouraged to utilize the process with kids as often as possible and to share their knowledge with other professionals. And beyond that, they can positively impact their families and generations to come.
