Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI)
About This Program
Target Population: Adults working and living with children and youth who escalate incidents into no-win power struggles, distort reality, are self-abusive, engage in destructive peer relationships, lack social skills, and show little conscience for aggressive behavior
Program Overview
LSCI is a brain-based, trauma-informed interactive therapeutic strategy for turning crisis situations into learning opportunities for children and youth with chronic patterns of self-defeating behaviors. LSCI views problems or stressful incidents as opportunities for learning, growth, insight, and change.
LSCI teaches professionals and parents the therapeutic talking strategies they will need to help children during stressful moments, as well as the awareness and skills to understand and manage their own feelings and counter-aggressive tendencies when intervening with aggressive or out-of-control behaviors.
LSCI believes that the process of helping involves having the ability to listen deeply to the personal stories of children and youth and to recognize that their message often is not in their words, but in their underlying thoughts and feelings. The real strength of the LSCI program is its emphasis on teaching, and practicing specific interviewing techniques to help adults and kids debrief a problem situation or critical event.
LSCI is a non-physical intervention program that uses a multi-theoretical approach to behavior management and problem solving. LSCI provides professionals and parents with a roadmap through conflict to desired outcomes using crisis as an opportunity to teach and create positive relationships with youth. The goal of LCSI is that, through certification in LSCI, adults learn what to do when a youth:
- Acts out in stress toward unsuspecting helpers, sparking explosive and endless power struggles.
- Makes poor decisions based on distorted thought patterns and perceptual errors.
- Has the right intentions and motivation but lacks the social skills to be successful.
- Is purposefully aggressive and exploitive with little conscience.
- Acts in self-damaging ways due to being burdened with shame and inadequacy.
- Becomes entangled in destructive peer relationships and is vulnerable to manipulation.
Program Goals
The primary goal of the Life Space Crisis Intervention (LCSI) program is:
- To turn problem situations into learning opportunities for young people with chronic patterns of self-defeating behavior.
In the LSCI model, children and youth in crisis will accomplish the following goals:
- Realize they are valued and treated with respect
- Learn to trust caring adults and use them for support in times of crisis
- Become aware of their patterns of self-defeating behavior
- Acquire strength-based social skills
- Learn to accept responsibility for inappropriate actions
Logic Model
The program representative did not provide information about a Logic Model for Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI).
Essential Components
The essential components of Life Space Crisis Intervention (LCSI) include:
- Online and live training and certification in the skills of Life Space Crisis Intervention (LCSI), providing adults with trauma-informed, interactive, therapeutic verbal strategies for turning crisis situations into learning opportunities for children and youth. LSCI identifies six chronic patterns of self-defeating behaviors:
- Youth who act out in stress toward unsuspecting helpers, sparking explosive and endless power struggles
- Youth who make poor decisions based on distorted thought patterns and perceptual errors
- Youth who have the right intentions and motivation but lack the social skills to be successful
- Youth who are purposefully aggressive and exploitive with little conscience
- Youth who act in self-damaging ways due to being burdened with shame and inadequacy
- Youth who become entangled in destructive peer relationships and are vulnerable to manipulation
- Training in LSCI teaches adults to use a 6-step process to help kids form more trusting relationships with adults, develop insight into their self-defeating patterns, and create lasting behavioral change:
- Stage 1: Drain Off - De-escalate the child/youth's intense emotions through brain-based and emotional regulation strategies
- Stage 2: Timeline - Use critical listening skills to discover the child/youth's point of view.
- Stage 3: Central Issue - Identify the child/youth's vital interest and select the appropriate LSCI Reclaiming Intervention.
- Stage 4: Insight - Use one of the LSCI Interventions to help the child/youth recognize his pattern of self-defeating behavior.
- Stage 5: New Skills - Teach the new skills which lead to more responsible behavior.
- Stage 6: Transfer of Learning - Prepare the child/youth to re-enter the ongoing activity & setting. The 6th stage of the LSCI process ensures that teachers, administrators, parents, and others involved peripherally in a child's crisis situation are involved in its resolution and in helping the child re-integrate into a program, classroom, or milieu.
- LSCI also offers a course for parents (LSCI Skills for Parents), Program Administrators, and Paraprofessionals that teaches the fundamental concepts of LSCI in 2-hour, 1-day, 2-day and/or 8-session group training programs.
Program Delivery
Recommended Intensity:
The intervention is intended to be used as needed when individuals are in crisis and display disruptive behaviors. As such, no prescriptive contact schedule is described in the program.
Recommended Duration:
The program contains strategies for staff to use on an ongoing basis to prevent or intervene in response to challenging behaviors occurring in a crisis situation.
Delivery Settings
This program is typically conducted in a(n):
- Adoptive Home
- Birth Family Home
- Foster / Kinship Care
- Group or Residential Care
- School Setting (Including: Day Care, Day Treatment Programs, etc.)
Homework
This program does not include a homework component.
Languages
Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) has materials available in languages other than English:
Dutch, French, Portuguese, Spanish
For information on which materials are available in these languages, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed at the bottom of this page).
Resources Needed to Run Program
The typical resources for implementing the program are:
- Staff needs to be trained in the techniques (see training section for more details)
- Techniques can be performed anywhere, no additional room requirements or resources are needed.
Manuals and Training
Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications
Training in this intervention is open to anyone who works with troubled or troubling children/youth. There is no required minimum level of education needed in order to be trained in LSCI.
Manual Information
There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.
Program Manual(s)
Manual details:
- Long, N., Fecser, F., & Whitson, S. (2023). Life Space Crisis Intervention trainer’s manual. LSCI Institute.
Access is provided to certified LSCI Senior Trainers. Please contact the training contact below for more information.
Training Information
There is training available for this program.
Training Contact:
- Signe Whitson
signewhitson@lsci.org
Training Type/Location:
LSCI training is provided at LSCI National Training Sites (list of Training Sites is available at www.lsci.org) or on-site for groups of 15+. LSCI training is provided exclusively by certified Senior Trainers who have completed LSCI training, utilized LSCI skills in their professional work, and completed an intensive 3-day Train the Trainer process. LSCI Senior Trainers hold advanced degrees in Education, Psychology, Social Work, Counseling, or a related field.
Number of days/hours:
Certification in LSCI is a 40-hour, competency-based course. Training can be offered as a 4- or 5-day training or it broken down into shorter intervals and spread out over several weeks or months, if necessary
The LSCI Institute also offers a 2-hour Overview training, a 1-day Introduction to LSCI, a 2-day Conflict in the Classroom, a training on Confronting & Changing Passive Aggressive Behavior, a training on Turning Down the Heat: Preventing Conflict in the Classroom, and LSCI Skills for Parents courses.
Additional Resources:
There currently are additional qualified resources for training:
Please visit: https://www.lsci.org/product-category/books/
Implementation Information
Pre-Implementation Materials
There are pre-implementation materials to measure organizational or provider readiness for Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) as listed below:
A comprehensive Service Delivery Model is offered that allows certified trainers to consult with organizations/providers before, during, and after LSCI training. To learn more about the Service Delivery Model, please contact the training contact above or click here: https://www.lsci.org/learn-more/service-delivery-model/
A pre-assessment is offered to all LSCI training participants.
Formal Support for Implementation
There is formal support available for implementation of Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) as listed below:
The Service Delivery Model (https://www.lsci.org/learn-more/service-delivery-model/) outlines the range of formal supports that LSCI trainers offer to organizations & providers. These services are provided through site visits in the first three years after adoption of the LSCI approach along with ongoing accessibility to LSCI trainers through email, phone, and teleconferencing. The LSCI Institute offers tools that organizations can use to monitor fidelity, refresh skills, and evaluate effectiveness.
Fidelity Measures
There are fidelity measures for Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) as listed below:
Fidelity is assessed through self-report checklists and direct observations by LSCI trainers. The LCSI fidelity measure can be obtained through the LSCI Participant’s Manual or by contacting the training contact in the above section.
Implementation Guides or Manuals
There are no implementation guides or manuals for Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI).
Implementation Cost
There are no studies of the costs of Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI).
Research on How to Implement the Program
Research has not been conducted on how to implement Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI).
Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research
Dawson, C. A. (2003). A study on the effectiveness of Life Space Crisis Intervention for students identified with emotional disturbances. Reclaiming Children & Youth, 11(4), 223–230. http://www.lsci.nl/documenten/Dawson.pdf
Type of Study:
Pretest–posttest study with a nonequivalent control group (Quasi-experimental)
Number of Participants:
91
Population:
- Age — Not specified
- Race/Ethnicity — 56 African American and 35 Hispanic
- Gender — 74 Male and 17 Female
- Status — Participants were junior high school students with emotional disturbance.
Location/Institution: New York City
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to report the effects of Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) training with staff in a junior high school serving students with emotional disturbance. Participants were assigned to either LSCI or to a control group. Measures utilized include administrative school records. Results indicate that the frequency of crisis decreased significantly in the LSCI school while increasing significantly in the control school, and there were significant differences at posttest. There was a greater decrease in suspensions in the LSCI school than in the control school. More students in the LSCI school were mainstreamed and transferred to less restrictive settings, and also had higher attendance rates. All staff in the LSCI school reported that they felt able to manage crises, while only 2 of the 16 staff in the control reported this competence. Limitations include the lack of a randomized control group, small sample size, and length of follow-up.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 4 months.
D'Oosterlinck, F., Goethals, E., Boekaert, E., Schuyten, G., & DeMaeyer, J. (2008). Implementation and effect of Life Space Crisis Intervention in special schools with residential treatment for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Psychiatric Quarterly, 79(1), 65–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-007-9057-8
Type of Study:
Pretest–posttest study with a nonequivalent control group (Quasi-experimental)
Number of Participants:
62
Population:
- Age — 9-19 years
- Race/Ethnicity — 100% Caucasian
- Gender — 40 Male and 11 Female
- Status — Participants were students attending schools with residential treatment.
Location/Institution: East-Flanders, Belgium
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) program with students referred to special schools with residential treatment because of severe behavioral problems. Participants were assigned to either LSCI or to a non-treatment control group. Measures utilized include the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC), the Scale for Interpersonal Behavior (SIB), the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory-Dutch (BDHI-D), the Competence Experience Scale for Adolescents (CBSA), and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Results indicate that a positive effect of LSCI was found on direct aggression and social desirability. Limitations include a lack of randomization, high sample dropout, reliance on self-reported measures, and small sample size.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 11 months.
The following studies were not included in rating LSCI on the Scientific Rating Scale...
Forthun, L. F., McCombine, J. W., & Freado, M (2006). A study of LSCI in a school setting. Reclaiming Children & Youth, 15(2), 95-101. https://www.lsci.org/pdf/research-studies/LSCI-StudyInASchoolSetting.pdf
The purpose of the study was to explore the effects of Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) training on school personnel and the students they serve, as well as to evaluate how LSCI was being used by staff and whether interventions reduced school-wide disciplinary referrals. Participants were assigned to LSCI. Measures utilized include study developed questionnaires, administrative data and the Attribution Inventory. Results indicate that LSCI was used frequently by trained school personnel from both special and alternative education and regular education settings. LSCI-trained educators were less likely to use coercive student management strategies, and referrals for common misbehaviors declined. Focus group responses demonstrated improved teacher-student relationships and a proactive approach to addressing student problems. Limitations include small sample size, the lack of a control group, and lack of follow-up. Note: This article was not used in the rating process due to the lack of a control group.
Additional References
Long, N. J., Long, J., & Whitson, S. L. (2009). The angry smile: The psychology of passive aggressive behavior in families, schools, and workplaces (2nd ed.). Pro-ed.
Long, N. J., & Morse, W. C. (1996). Conflict in the classroom. The education of at-risk and troubled students. Pro-ed.
Long, N. J., Wood, M., & Fecser, F. A. (2001). Life Space Crisis Intervention. Talking with students in conflict. Pro-ed.
Contact Information
- Signe Whitson, LSW
- Agency/Affiliation: LSCI Institute
- Website: www.lsci.org
- Email: signewhitson@lsci.org
Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed by CEBC: January 2024
Date Program Content Last Reviewed by Program Staff: November 2023
Date Program Originally Loaded onto CEBC: July 2012
