International Critical Incident Stress Foundation

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Be a part of the future of the crisis & disaster response field! Plan to attend the 12th World Congress on Stress, Trauma & Coping. Join 800 crisis intervention and disaster response practitioners from across the U.S. and around the World for nearly 100 presentations on recent disasters, the latest research, tools you can use, and more.

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ICISF Partner Events

Basic Peer Support Crisis Intervention Training Program (BPSCITP)

Basic Peer Support Crisis Intervention Training Program (BPSCITP)

Presented by Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC): BPSCITP is FLETC center advanced training program

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Organizational Recovery After An Incident & The Effects of Critical Incident Stress

Articles of Interest: 03/19/12

‘Organizational Recovery After An Incident’ U. S. Office of Personnel Management

POSITIVE IMPORTANT TO READ & REVIEW 2010

Click Here

Support informal debriefing: The formal debriefing doesn't end the recovery process. Provide opportunities for employees to talk informally with one another when they feel a need to discuss the experience. Formal crisis intervention processes for victims of critical incidents, such as workplace violence, have been used and recommended by mental health professionals for years. One such process, Critical Incident Stress Management, has been pioneered by Dr. Jeffrey Mitchell of the University of Maryland at Baltimore County.

CONCLUSION:As mentioned earlier, both critical incident stress debriefing and defusing are among the two most utilized processes under the CISM umbrella. Neither model should be employed by anyone other than trained mental health professionals and other trained CISM team personnel. It should also be emphasized that the CISM process is but one crisis intervention model among others available to Federal agencies.

The Effects of Critical Incident Stress

POSITIVE IMPORTANT TO READ & REVIEW 2/3/12

http://leblu.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/the-effects-of-critical-incident-stress/

“The Effect of Critical Incident Stress on Fire Fighters” A Research Paper by R. Van Buskirk,

Teams help officers deal with trauma after police shootings

Articles of Interest: 03/12/12

http://m.chronicle.augusta.com/news/crime-courts/2012-02-18/teams-help-officers-deal-trauma-after-police-shootings?v=1329633596

http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/crime-courts/2012-02-18/teams-help-officers-deal-trauma-after-police-shootings?v=1329596450

Experts are working to help officers who live through such shootings or witness the death of a colleague get through it and get back on the job. That’s the driving force behind the Crisis Incident Support Team, a volunteer unit with the Georgia State Patrol that comes to the aid of officers and agencies across the state; Over the years, the crisis team concept has been refined into a model that uses established techniques to assist officers experiencing emotional trauma. There is even an organization – the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation – that sets standards for training, certifies members and provides resources for teams across the nation.; Teams in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina were instrumental in helping Georgia establish its crisis incident organization….; In the case of
officer deaths, Carrier said the crisis team comes in for a “debriefing” with the permission of the local agency and gathers all those who responded to the event and who were close to the fallen officer.

Is it time to resurrect post-trauma psychological debriefing for emergency responders and aid workers?

Christian Jarrett discusses the need for post-trauma psychological debriefing for emergency responders

http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2012/01/is-it-time-to-resurrect-post-trauma.html

Recent tragedy highlights the need for CISM…

Article of Interest 1/03/12

See comments from the U.S. Fire Administration.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20111225/US.Fire.Five.Dead/?cid=hero_media

LifeNet, Volume 22, Issue 4 Now Available

The fourth and final issue of the 2011 series of LifeNet, the ICISF newsletter, is now available to members here on the ICISF website.
LifeNet is an exclusive benefit to members of ICISF. To access this latest issue, you will need the login provided to members by ICISF in the recent LifeNet publication announcement email. Once logged in, members will see the LifeNet button appear on the menu to the right.

If you are a member and need assistance accessing LifeNet, or would like a printed copy mailed to you, please contact Michelle Parks at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone at (410) 750-9600.