Qpass assesses the three “crisis emotions.” Crow (1977) and Plutchick (1980) describe sadness, anger, and anxiety as the three primary mood states of people in crisis. Myer, Williams, Ottens, and Schmidt (1992) recommend that crisis intervention specialists routinely assess "anger/hostility, fear/anxiety, and sadness/melancholy" (p. 140) in order to select the most appropriate intervention for the person’s current state.

Assessing risk of harm to self / others. Many individuals served by crisis intervention centers are at risk for violence to self or others. Hence, Qpass, with its scales assessing the severity of self-harm and violent urges, can be especially useful in crisis intervention work.

Triage / community traumas. Qpass can be used in screening communities and large populations for mental health problems. As a triage instrument, mental health teams can employ Qpass in assessing large groups in the aftermath of traumas such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Qpass scores can rapidly help determine which individuals may be in the most need of immediate intervention or referral.

References

Crow, G. (1977). Crisis intervention. New York: Association Press.

Myer, R. A., Williams, R.C., Ottens, A.J., & Schmidt, A. E. (1992). Crisis assessment: A three dimensional model for triage. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 14, 137-148.

Plutchick, R. (1980). Emotion: A psychoevolutionary synthesis. New York: Harper & Row.