Interpersonal
Kennedy describes "interpersonal" situations as ones involving a significant player outside the individual encountering stress (Kennedy, 392). An emergency situation that falls into this category might be one where the responder is asked to mediate between two parties: one who is experiencing stress due to the actions of another. This could be anything from verbal taunting to physical abuse, which the responder is expected to intervene in and hopefully stop.
Intrapersonal
Kennedy describes "intrapersonal" situations as ones involving a person's own thoughts and fears, from anxiety to depression or confusion (Kennedy, 392). An emergency situation that falls into this category might be one where a person experiences intense anxiety, confusion, or depression: a person who has a difficult supervisor at work and feels that his work is consistently sub-par and experiences panic attacks prior to work is experiencing an intrapersonal situation.
Somatic Complaints
Kennedy describes "somatic complaints" as a set of physical symptoms that an individual experiences and perceives as the root cause of the issue (Kennedy, 392). This may include nausea caused by panic or fear the morning of a job review, or headaches caused by burnout or stress and experienced before a performance or during the work day. Generally, the individual believes that the complaints are not related to underlying factors, but believes them to be physical symptoms of a physical problem, and this is not the case with somatic complaints.
Works Cited
Kennedy, Eugene and Charles, Sara. On Becoming a Counselor: A Basic Guide for Nonprofessional Counselors and Other Helpers. Crossroad Publishing Co. : New York, NY. 2001.
