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Victims and survivors of crime, suicide, hurricanes, terrorism, domestic violence, or earthquakes are all victims of crisis, and are at risk for developing post traumatic stress disorder. Crisis intervention for victims may vary depending on the needs of the victim and the type of crisis. There are some critical elements to crisis intervention services that are necessary for all victim, including psychological first aid, survivor needs assessment and empathetic support, and recovery intervention. The goal of crisis intervention is to help victims confront the reality of what happened, begin to deal with the crisis, and to go beyond the pain and emotional trauma toward new strength and opportunities for growth and change. Victims may include those who were the target of the victimization, as well as others affected by the crime such as parents, spouses, friends, or witnesses. The challenge for crisis intervention programs is to provide effective crisis support and assistance as soon as possible following victimization.

Immediate crisis intervention or "psychological first aid" involves establishing a rapport with the victim, gathering information for short-term assessment and service delivery, and averting a potential state of crisis. Many victims may be resistant to crisis intervention due to fear or anxiety. wide range of human emotions and behaviors can accompany crisis, particularly when the crisis relates to victimization. People react differently to stress and crisis, particularly when the crisis relates to victimization. People react differently to stress and crisis situations based on their own skills or behaviors, abilities to cope, maturation levels, and personalities. For some, a crisis situation may be coupled with changes in behavior such as drug and/or alcohol abuse, anxiety, sleeplessness, or over-eating. Resistance is one form of the victim's response to a crisis situation. The immediacy of the response is critical to ensure the safety of the victim and his or her family. Time may be extremely important because of impending danger to the victim or the family. Victims should not wait hours or days to see a crisis intervention counselor to assist in their time of need. To be effective, crisis drug intervention must be provided in an orderly, structured, humanistic manner and must focus on the individuality of the victim and his or her needs.