Crisis-Cope app for iPhone and iPad

Crisis Cope is an application for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. It enables you to generate a personalised Crisis Management Plan which makes use of the media and communication features of your device. It is particularly effective because your device may be close at hand when other resources are not.

It does not pretend to provide a solution to any crisis, but provides a structure with which you can anticipate events or situation which could lead to a crisis (e.g.a fight with a partner) and actions, symbols or recordings which you know will help get you through that crisis. 

The application has two main modes of use. The primary use is when you are near or in a state of crisis. When the application is started you are shown a collection of large, bright red buttons whose titles describe a set of potential crises. Touching a button initiates a sequence of actions defined in your crisis management plan.

The setup mode is used ahead of time either alone or with the help of others. It allows you to define a series of potential crisis. You can then move on to design a series of actions.

Each action is centred around a specific task. The tasks are:
    playing a recorded video
    playing an audio message
    playing a song from the devices music library
    showing a photo from the devices image library
    showing a photo taken specifically for the task
    sending a prepared text to a contact on the device
    sending a prepared email to a contact on the device
    placing a phone call to a contact on the device

NB. The application anticipates the limitations of the device e.g. if your device is not able to make phone calls this option is not offered.

Crises are a normal human reaction to emotionally difficult situations. People often know which situations or events they find most difficult or they may recognise they are at a period of their lives which means coping with crises is particularly challenging. When crises occur, people can become immobilised or frantic in their attempts at dealing with a crisis. Common responses used by people in crisis are, “I don’t know what to do”, “ I can’t cope”. At these times a person’s inability to think calmly and effectively about ways to cope with the crisis can add to the sense of panic.

Crisis Management is a process by which potential crises can be identified ahead of time when a person is better able to determine how they will feel, the reasons why and what steps will help them to cope should that crisis occur. A key part of this technique is to develop a plan made up of action steps that have a good chance of restoring a person’s emotional balance.

A Crisis Management plan ideally includes positive actions which are focused on problem solving. Having a plan, worked out in advance can allow the person to feel more confident and secure, knowing they have plans in place to help them cope.

The makers of Crisis Cope hope that their application will provide a practical and useful tool to enable any potential crisis suffer to manage a crisis effectively, minimising any experienced distress and enable them to continue on with their lives.